It does kinda make sense about the Dahl estate. Roald Dahl hated the 1971 movie because they took his own adapted screenplay and basically decided it wasn't good enough to film, so they hired a "ghost writer" (David Seltzer of "The Omen"), behind Dahl's back, to rewrite 30 percent of it for no screen credit. He rewrote the ending, added in the Slugworth subplot, and, well, 30 percent of the finished script. Yet Dahl received solo screenplay credit for a movie that totally pissed him off. It remained a "sore spot" for him until his death.
So his daughter, who now controls the estate, is trying to honor his wishes by steering clear of this film and its material.
But the problem is that the 1971 film is beloved around the world, considered a children's classic, with iconic songs that have been sung in commercials, recorded by pop stars ("The Candy Man" by Sammy Davis Jr. reached #1 on the Billboard pop charts), and so it's a little hard to ignore this "giant elephant in the room" when you go to see a major stage production of the story.
Add to it that they DO include one song, Pure Imagination, which only has served to remind audiences and clearly the critics, of just how good those songs really were/are ... and you have a problem.
Yes, they would have to clear using the songs through Dahl's estate, and yes, they would have to re-license the songs from the Newley estate and Leslie Bricusse, but I think it's worth it. Either that, or watch it transfer to Broadway and die a quick and very expensive death.
... because audiences don't care about estates and licensing. They want those movie songs, and "they want them now!"
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
Updated On: 6/27/13 at 07:11 AM
