'Color Purple' took a long road to the Academy
By Howard Shapiro, 6/15/08

The Broadway know-it-alls told Scott Sanders that a musical of Alice Walker's beloved novel The Color Purple would never see the color green. Forget it, they said. You can't raise the money. Black themes don't pay on Broadway. You won't even get a theater for it. Sanders never listened. He was too busy listening to the book. When he read it, he heard music - the music of the American rural South, of a black experience, of the theater. The sort of music that, taken together, found its way onto the Broadway stage of The Color Purple, whose first national tour arrives Tuesday at the Academy of Music and stays through July 13.

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Disney buys pitch from Mike Rich - 'Rookie' writer sells true 'Parent Trap'-ish story
By Michael Fleming, 6/13/08

Walt Disney Pictures has acquired an untitled pitch by Mike Rich.
Studio and writer were vague on the idea, allowing only that it's based on a true story with elements of "Sleepless in Seattle" and "The Parent Trap."

Deal brings Rich back to Disney, where he scripted "The Rookie" and "Secretariat," about the 1973 Triple Crown-winning race horse. Rich's last credit was "The Nativity Story." The film will be produced by Scott Sanders, with Mara Jacobs aboard as executive producer.

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Scott Sanders Productions to produce new Houdini Musical
Arts, Briefly - By Campbell Robertson, 4/18/08

A musical about Harry Houdini sounds intriguing, but even more intriguing is its team: Scott Sanders, who produced "The Color Purple," and David Rockwell, the architect and set designer, are producing "Houdini: An Original Musical." Danny Elfman, an ex-member of the band Oingo Boingo, who wrote the "Simpsons" and "Desperate Housewives" themes and a lot of music for Tim Burton movies, is doing the score; David Yazbek ("Dirty RottenScoundrels") is writing the lyrics; and Kurt Andersen, the novelist, journalist, radio host and occasional playwright, is writing the book. Jack O¹Brien is slated to direct "Houdini," which may open on Broadway in spring 2010.

Additional coverage:
Variety
New York Magazine

Antin to write, direct Disney project - Sanders producing untitled music-driven film
By Michael Fleming, 3/18/08

Walt Disney Pictures has set Steven Antin to write and direct an untitled music-driven project that Scott Sanders will produce under his first-look deal at the studio.

A bigscreen newcomer, Sanders is well known in stage and music circles. He most recently developed and was lead producer on hit musical "The Color Purple" and collaborated with Queen Latifah in a music partnership to record and produce Grammy-nominated disc "The Dana Owens Album." (more)

Sanders set for film, theater ‘Purple’ producer inks deal with Disney
By Michael Fleming, 3/20/07

Scott Sanders, producer of stage musical "The Color Purple," has formed a company to hatch legit productions and features.

On the film side, Scott Sanders Prods. will be staked to a first-look deal at Walt Disney Studios. For stage projects, Sanders will be backed by a private equity investment group that includes New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, David Kraft and investment bankers Roy Furman and Jim Fantaci.

Sanders has hired theater veteran Carol Fineman as VP of the theater division, and he will begin staffing the film side shortly. (more)

Tastemakers: Performing Arts
By Joshua Lipton, 3/14/07

Over eight years, Sanders, 50, worked on bringing "The Color Purple" to Broadway, searching for the right investors and ultimately raising $11 million to fund the show. It paid off. The play, which opened on Dec. 1, 2005, grossed the second most of any production on Broadway in 2006. More than 650,000 fans came to check out the production, which managed to attract a new demographic. In 2006, African-Americans regularly comprised at least 50% of the audience, many for their first time seeing a Broadway show, says Sanders. (more)

‘Color Purple’ Proves Black Themes Can Make Green on Great White Way
By Brooks Barnes, 12/1/06

To the casual observer, "The Color Purple" on Broadway seemed like a cinch. The Alice Walker novel won the Pulitzer Prize. The 1985 Steven Spielberg movie grossed over $100 million domestically and garnered 11 Academy Award nominations. And the musical arrived on Broadway with Oprah Winfrey on its marquee as a producer.

But it was initially greeted with upturned noses by many Broadway powerbrokers. It tells the story of two sisters who have an unbreakable bond despite lives marred by rape, domestic abuse and poverty. Reviews were tepid. With fluffy offerings such as "Hairspray" and "Mamma Mia" dominating the Great White Way, some investors questioned whether audiences would embrace a musical based on such a gritty story.

What's more, some Broadway investors believed that an all-black cast with no name stars would have difficulty drawing the core theater audience any mega-musical needs to be financially sound: white, middle-age women. While Broadway is fairly healthy -- attendance jumped sharply last year -- regular ticket buyers remain a fairly limited bunch.

Today, producers of the $11 million musical version of "The Color Purple" plan to announce that the show has recouped its investment. The show's success demonstrates that Broadway can do a better job at attracting diverse audiences. (more)

The Making of The Color Purple - a Masterpiece Becomes a Musical
By Susan Berfield, 11/21/05

When Scott Sanders set out to turn The Color Purple into a Broadway musical, he made two critical decisions. He would approach Alice Walker, the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel, himself to ask for her blessing. But he wouldn't ever appear to be seeking the endorsement of Oprah Winfrey, who had played the sassy, tough Sofia in Steven Spielberg's 1985 movie version of the book and had later declared the experience one of the greatest of her life. With Oprah, you wait for her to come to you. (more)