Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Did you EVER think we would see this day?
SueleenGay
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/9/03
#1Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 8:07am
Sweeney Todd opens in MOVIE THEATRES! Who would have thought that nearly 30 years after it opened on Broadway, at a time when movie musicals were pretty much dead, that after all these years of imagining how WE would make this classic into a film, that this day would ever arrive?
I just had to say that. I know it is being hyped beyond belief and by now people may be tired of hearing about Depp and Burton, but I think it is important to reflect on this for just one moment.
Swing your razor wide!
#2re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 8:47am
I never thought we'd see Dreamgirls or Chicago as films either. Especially NOW. Those shows are all roughly 30 years old!
The usual perception is that if it isn't made into a movie shortly after it closes (or even while it's running), the "train has passed it by," and it's pretty much done for.
A lot has changed now. They're not looking to adapt recent musicals OR Tony-winners only. Or even blockbuster shows.
Come up with a cinematic script, get a reputable director and a box office star or two attached, and anything is possible! I love it! (...to quote Lilianne La Fleur from the forthcoming "Nine").
I wonder if we could see film versions of:
The Most Happy Fella
Big River
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Ragtime
Into the Woods
Sunday in the Park
or (improved) remakes of:
Mame
Guys & Dolls
Brigadoon
The Wiz
Anything is possible.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#2re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 9:12am
After all the hype, I was FLOORED by the movie when I was able to see it at a sneek peek and can say it truly lives up to and deserves the hype.
I'm excited that the genre seems to making a comeback.
best12bars, I'd LOVE to see INTO THE WOODS on the big screen 
#3re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 9:41amI want to be inside Johnny Depp. Or visa versa.LOL
#4re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 10:11amI'm beaming with pride and joy. :) Then again, that might change if I end up not liking it, I'm not seeing it until 4:00 today.
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#5re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 10:12am
I'm alive at last!
And I'm full of joy!
nmartin
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/3/05
#6re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 10:19amWhen I was at the Uris in Jan. of 1980, I never would have thought there would be a movie version of Sweeney Todd. It amazes me that it happened.
robbiej
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#7re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 10:26am
MOST HAPPY FELLA would just be a glorious film. Shoot the entire thing in Napa during 'magic hour' and it would look fantastic.
I always thought a television film with Audra, Megan Mullaley and (until I actually saw him do the role) Paul Sorvino would be magnificent.
#8re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 10:44am
I think one of the most exciting aspects also is there are so many people out there that see musicals in one light. Having a show like Sweeney be released with a director as (in?)famous as Tim Burton, and an actor as popular as Depp will have all SORTS of audiences going to the theatre, and they'll see a type of musical they didn't know existed.
I know my boyfriend basically thought all musicals were Oklahoma until I took him to a production of Urinetown and he thought Little Sally and Officer Lockstock were amazing.
I'm really excited to hear the opinions of people who DON'T often enjoy/attend musicals.
Broadway Bound2
Broadway Star Joined: 12/20/07
#9re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 10:46amWith the successes of Phantom Of The Opera, Chicago, and Dreamgirls recently the sky is the limit for Stage shows to make a huge comeback and I hope they will. I can't wait till later on today to see Sweeney Todd, it has to be one of my all time favorite shows.
#10re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 10:50am
I think Most Happy Fella works on so many levels for a film adaptation. It's not widely known by the general public, yet it has a handful of "oldies" hits ("Standin' On the Corner" was a #1 hit). The story is controversial enough even for today's movie audiences. The score is brilliant and by most "undiscovered," it's hugely romantic, the roles are meaty, and (as you said) the location photography could knock our eyes out.
Stock it full of movie stars, a solid adapted script, with killer cinematography and the right director... and it could be wonderful and very successful.
I feel the same way about "Brigadoon" (except that it's much more widely known). Shoot it on location in Scotland with the right cast and director, and it could clean up.
Same thing with Big River. A beautiful location shoot with big-name stars (some film stars and a few big country music stars)... and watch the tickets sell.
EDIT: And the crazy part (to tie it back into this thread, and get me out of my "tangent") is that all of these projects could realistically happen! Something I never thought I'd see again on the big screen in my lifetime.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#11re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 10:52amAt last my right arm is complete again!
Broadway Bound2
Broadway Star Joined: 12/20/07
#12re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 10:53amBrigadoon has such great music in it, but I agree the original was not well done. The scenery was just awful.
#13re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 10:56am
The "magic" of Brigadoon lies in the story and the acting... not in storybook sets or special effects.
Shoot it on location in Scotland, and let the misty Highlands take over... then cast killer actors who believe honestly in what they're doing... and watch the magic unfold.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#14re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 10:58ambest12bars, In a dream world, who do you think would a be the perfect director?
#15re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 11:02amIf I weren't seeing it in two hours, I wouldn't believe it myself. Movie musicals again! And Sweeney of all things! I always thought of Sondheim as a private treasure that the masses were missing out on, mainly because they had neither the opportunity nor the interest. I wonder if musicals will ever become part of mainstream popular culture again, without the theatre geek stigma attached?
robbiej
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#16re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 11:05amThough I'd sell my mom and a kidney to hear Audra sing the score of MOST HAPPY FELLA, Anne Hathaway is really making her way to leading-ladydom. A titch young for it, she still might be able to make it work. Hell...even Zellwegger could work as Cleo. But who who who as Tony?
#17re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 11:09am
For Brigadoon?
God, I don't know. Someone who believes in it as much as I do. Brigadoon has a "darkness" to it. It's mysterious... It's a legend... and it's quietly and intensely romantic.
My short list would include Scorsese, Condon, Marshall and Pollack... but I'd like to see an established director, maybe of a darker or quieter genre, come forward with the passion to guide it. Someone like Sophia Coppola.
And casting?
So many possibilities for the leads and supporting leads...
Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johannson, Renne Zellweger, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe
Many great choices with either younger or slightly older actors.
EDIT: Ann Hathaway would make a wonderful Fiona too.
And for Tony in Most Happy Fella? "He's an old man, an old man..." First name that popped into my mind who might completely GO for it would be Nicholson.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
robbiej
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#18re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 11:17am
Of the 'old guard' (Nicholson, Pacino, Deniro) Nicholson is really the only one who has given a really revelatory performance about what it means to be an old man (ABOUT SCHMIDT...I can't watch that movie without thinking about my dad). Lord knows what he'd sound like singing it...but it could be magnificent.
Eastwood? Too virile? Peter Fonda? Not a big enough star probably. Alan Alda? He actually has sung in his life.
#19re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 11:47am
I thought about Eastwood and had the same reaction you did, Robbie.
Tony needs to be a bit repulsive at first, to both Rosabella and the audience. He's fighting the odds. He's fighting convention. And he's fighting our preconceived conception of who this person is.
Nicholson could face those battles head on, both as a "star" and as "Tony." And I have no doubt he would win us over. OH, did I mention he's a big, fat, f*ckin' movie star?
The only thing about Rosabella (at least) is that you can't go TOO young with her or it would be unsettling to the audience. I'm thinking someone like Nicole Kidman would be right. She should be still "fairly" young, and pretty. But also realizing that her days as "the sweet young thing" are numbered. She's a waitress in a diner and this may be as far as she goes in life. Nicole could play that beautifully. And it gives her a great motivation to be with Tony.
And Renee IS Cleo. She'd be perfect with her Texas roots! The only other actress that came instantly to mind was Toni Collette.
And I can see Jake Gyllenhaal as Herman, but he'd be a tad young for Renee. They would tear up on Big D, though!
And someone like Hugh Jackman or Russell Crowe for Joe. Or (don't shoot me!) Michael Buble (sp?) because he could sing the sh*t out of it. Wait! Harry Connick Jr., even better.
And Meryl Streep for Tony's sister Marie! (Just put her back in her Bridges of Madison County get-up.)
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#20re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 11:48amAnne Hathaway would be great, yeah.
#21re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 11:58am
God, I would love to see beautiful big-screen adaptations of Most Happy Fella and Big River as well as Once On This Island (though I've always thought it would be beautiful as an animated film). I've been waiting forever for a film of Les Miz and I think Miss Saigon really lends itself well to film. Chess could, too.
I've got my tickets for Sweeney on Sunday and I'm really looking forward to Nine. I just hope they keep 'em coming!
robbiej
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#22re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 12:01pm
How about Winslet as Rosabella? She's over thirty and can sing (a little, right?). And she hasn't deadened her face with botox!
Gyllenhal as Herman is perfection. As is Connick, Jr. as Joey. And Zellwegger's OH, MY FEET would be a divine way to start the film.
#23re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 12:04pm
She's a pretty good singer. Have you seen Romance and Cigarettes?
She acts songs well.
TheatreDiva90016
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/04
#24re: Did you EVER think we would see this day?
Posted: 12/21/07 at 12:07pm
I'm right there with you Sue!
And a film version of Most Happy Fella would be GLORIOUS!
I'm very excited!
Leave it to Ivan to turn this into smut.
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