Veteran animator and director Robert Valley, perhaps known best for his work on the sci-fi anthology Love, Death + Robots, will be putting his skills to work as the director of a new feature biopic on legendary Broadway producer Billy Rose. Titled American Rose, the film will tell the complicated story of the multi-talented producer who is known as much for his messy personal life as he is for his many shows.
Rose was the child of Jewish immigrants whose meager childhood gave way to a career as a shorthand writing champion, songwriter, and most notably, a Broadway producer known for his massive productions. His career began on-stage with Charlot Revue for which he served as a co-lyricist on one of the songs. One of his most famous plays, Carmen Jones, was the first to have an all-Black cast, earning rave reviews at the time and paving the way for a more progressive Broadway landscape. It was later adapted into a feature filming in 1954 and starred Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte. Other productions from the mind of Rose include Jumbo, Clash By Night, and The Immoralist.
Due to his heritage, he also became an outspoken critic of the U.S. during the Holocaust, railing against the country's inaction. In his personal life, he was known for his various different partners, marrying the uber-talented comedian Fanny Brice and later wedding famed athlete Eleanor Holm. His marriage to Holm was particularly notorious as it ended with the pair going to war with a series of news releases and columns smearing one another. All together, it makes him a notorious figure from the history of Broadway and one worth a deeper look at in film form.
Valley has his fingerprints on many prominent animations outside Love, Death + Robots. He served as director for an episode of the wildly popular freshman superhero series Invincible as well as the Apex Legends: Stories From the Outlands series of shorts. Earlier in his career, Valley was also the animator for some of Gorrilaz's most famous music videos, including "Feel Good Inc." and "DARE." American Rose won't be the first biopic Valley has worked on as he served as the animation director for Showtime's Belushi documentary.
Producer Steven Finkelstein had high praise for Valley and his body of work. "Valley, who directed ‘Pear Cider & Cigarettes’ and, most recently, two episodes of ‘Love Death & Robots,’ is bringing his immense talent and unique artistic vision to this bespoke project and our team is thrilled beyond belief to work with him," he said in a statement. Finkelstein has spent four years working on American Rose through his banner of the same name.
There's currently no word on when American Rose could release.