| The WICKED cameos (spoilers) / the almost hip-hop "Popular" / what they got right | |
| Last Edit: GrumpyMorningBoy 11:53 am EST 11/27/24 | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 11:40 am EST 11/27/24 | |
| In reply to: re: Wicked film: anyone else notice... - lowwriter 10:25 am EST 11/27/24 | |
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| I thought Stephen Schwartz's was super adorable. // spoilers ahead that are basically all over the internet now but was pretty phenomenally NOT leaked before release weekend // There have been viral videos of initial audiences GASPING / yelping / cheering when Indina and Kristin make their appearances, and I love the fact that they got some original material. I have SO MANY things I could say about this film adaptation but I'm mostly struck by all the ways they didn't screw things up. Stephen Schwartz told the Los Angeles Times: “In the spirit of being open to new things for the movie, my music team and I thought, let’s refresh the rhythm. Let’s, maybe, I don’t know, hip-hop it up a little bit,” Schwartz said of rethinking “Popular” for the movie. “Ariana said, ‘Absolutely not, don’t do it. I want to be Glinda, not Ariana Grande playing Glinda.'” Impressive. That's what we get for having cast musical theatre performers in this project instead of mere Hollywood & pop stars. Granted, Ms. Grande is not the typical pop star, with her own history of LOVING this musical, of seeing the original cast (and meeting Kristin afterward), of a childhood performing in shows and then appearing in a Broadway cast at such a young age (THIRTEEN)... But despite the freaking ASTONNNNISSSSHHHIIIINGGGGG production design / art direction / costume design / on this film, which reverts back to the golden era of Hollywood movie musicals in the most tremendous ways, what I'm probably most grateful for is the fact that Stephen Oremus, the long-serving music direction of the Broadway production, is serving here. They brought in dozens of WICKED Broadway & touring company alumni to record the ensemble vocals, and I nearly cannot beleive how GOOD they sound. So many film musical adaptations end up with Hollywood studio singers (Disney's live-action remakes, I'm looking at you) that sound saccharine, generic and terrible. The film ensemble of "Wicked" sound like singing characters, and every measure of their singing is treated with precision. Seriously. I can't get over how good this music direction is. And in the theatre, the sound mix from orchestra to singers -- with added sound for the choreography, stomping feet and swirling clothes (not heard on the soundtrack recordings) -- all just TREMENDOUS. Random question: have Cynthia Erivo or Jonathan Bailey talked about how they chose their accents? Cynthia pretty much goes with full-on American, while Mr. Bailey delivers a kind of modified Mid-Atlantic / British. He gives his words that end in an R a good American rrrrr and delivers a very flat "a" on "dancing" in "Dancing through Life," but his dialogue keeps things fairly naturally British, I imagine, in his own speaking voice. Just curious. It works. And damn this film was WELL CAST. I'm gushing. Forgive. WICKED isn't even in my top ten favorite musicals. But seeing the ENTIRE PLANET rave about this film brings me such genuine joy, because I know that an entire new generation of kids are discovering musical theatre for the first time, especially overseas, pre-teen sopranos are about to feel cool when they show off their high notes, young Black girls will aspire to be the next Cynthia Erivo, queer kids are going to feel affirmed, and the fact that this film happens to also contain a VERY TIMELY message that resonates so broadly across our social-political challenges is an added bonus. Even regular folks who don't like musicals are raving about this... there are tons of viral videos of straight dudes whose girlfriends and wives dragged them to this and they're caught crying at the end... such a nice palate cleanser after that election we just had. Man. Artistically, the project is inspiring as hell. It's mind-blowing to see how every department on this film (flush with cash, thank you Universal) brought their A-game in every way possible, and John M. Chu's vision holds the whole thing together brilliantly. Would I change anything? Yes. Not crazy about the added moments in "Defying Gravity." But that's such a minor quibble compared to all the phenomenal creativity and excellence in every frame of this film, and I'm proud of the handful of folks I know who had a little something to do with it. The genre of the American musical is ALIVE AND THRIVING. - GMB |
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| Link | ‘Wicked’ Team Considered Making ‘Popular’ More Hip-Hop. Ariana Grande Refused: ‘Absolutely Not. I Want to Be Glinda, Not Ariana Playing Glinda’ |
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| Next: | A note on sets and probably costumes - dramedy 01:28 pm EST 11/27/24 |
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