DEAR EVAN HANSEN Movie Musical - News & Discussion Thread — Page 8

If any musical depends heavily on a teenager looking like a kid- it's this one.

The comparisons to Grease don't take into account, Grease is campy and ridiculous already. Stockard Channing looks mid 30s sure, but the movie is also not what the 50's were. It's a wacky 70's closetedly disco self aware fairy tale.

As others have said-Platt's age is distracting truly.

The plot of Evan Hansen, is already very contrived-but you need to believe it's cause kids make unorthodox choices especially when they're in pain.

I think it's gonna be navel gazing YA akin to Fault in Our Stars or something.

The Jonah Hill “kid” character was what I thought too!

Updated On: 5/18/21 at 03:42 PM

helvizz said: "To be fair to Ben, I have18-year-old students who look like they're 30, just as I have other 18 y/o students who look like they're 14. It's a very weird age."



Sure, but it's not just a question of what's plausible, it's a question of how it reads on camera.

I had a film acting teacher once who told this anecdote about a commercial where they had to show a piece of toast. They tried to use an actual piece of bread that was toasted, but it didn't look enough like toast on camera, it just looked like a slice of bread. The lesson: just because something is real (or looks just like how something might look in real life), doesn't mean it successfully communicates to the audience what it needs to communicate.

If you have a student who looks 30, it doesn't matter, because they are just a human being in the world, and not a character in a story with fictional circumstances that need to be sold to a skeptical audience. If you have to explain it away enough to get to the "some students do technically look like this" phase, you've already taken the audience out of the movie.

Updated On: 5/18/21 at 04:00 PM

JBroadway said: "helvizz said: "To be fair to Ben, I have18-year-old students who look like they're 30, just as I have other 18 y/o students who look like they're 14. It's a very weird age."



Sure, but it's not just a question of what's plausible, it's a question of how it reads on camera.

I had a film acting teacher once who told this anecdote about a commercial where they had to show a piece of toast. They tried to use an actual piece of bread that was toasted, but it didn't look enough like toast on camera, it just looked like a sliceof bread. The lesson: just because something is real (or looks just like how something might look in real life), doesn't mean it successfully communicates tothe audience what it needs to communicate.

If you have a student who looks 30, it doesn't matter, because they are just a human being in the world, and not a character in a story with fictional circumstances that need to be sold to a skeptical audience. If you have to explain it away enough to get to the "some students do technically look like this" phase, you've already taken the audience out of the movie.

"

What did they use instead of toast?

Updated On: 5/18/21 at 04:20 PM

Fisher’s the same age as Platt… and is starting to look his age too.

(Never mind… I see you amended your comment) <3

Updated On: 5/18/21 at 04:25 PM

Oh, I totally agree with the message behind the metaphor.

Was just genuinely curious!

Why are people on here and other social media still talking about this movie like there were other options besides Ben? He's the reason this production exists, and it was always going to be a star vehicle for him. If, for some reason, they had waited a few years before making it, and Ben really couldn't do it, Andrew Barth Feldman and Jordan Fisher probably wouldn't even be considered for the role anyway, so bringing up their names now is especially pointless. It just feels like the same discussion over and over again.

Updated On: 5/18/21 at 04:49 PM

"Sure, but it's not just a question of what's plausible, it's a question of how it reads on camera."

Another story that backs this up: When Spielberg was making JAWS he had his props department make Chrissy Watkins's arm (she was the first victim) for Brody and Hendricks to find in the sand. Spielberg looked at the dead arm prop and said it looked fake, plasticky, and the wrong color. The props people told him that this is exactly how a dead, detached arm would look like after being in the water and sand for a several hours. Spielberg said that it didn't matter whether the arm looked like an "authentic" dead arm ; the audience would not buy the look of the arm and would conclude it was fake. Spielberg had one of his assistants bury her arm in the sand and that is what was used for the film.

Platt's hair was a HUGE miscalculation! They should have kept it light like it was on stage. If I recall, he had more of a sandy light brown color on stage, bordering on dark blonde. The dark wig is a mistake because dark hair on light skin makes you look paler and older. Part of the reason why older people will lighten their hair; it makes them look younger. (Also, hair tends to darken as you age. How many people do you know who were blond and even tow-headed when they were kids, but by the time they reached their early twenties their hair was almost brown??)

The last time I saw HANSEN on stage I saw Zachary Noah Piser as Evan, and I swear he read about 14 on stage. The younger Evan appears to be the more heartbreaking his circumstances because you can excuse his deeds as youthful transgressions. Not only that, but there is a protective factor that comes into play as well; the audience really wants to keep Evan safe and defend him. This made that last show I saw incredibly emotional and moving, much more so than the other times I saw it. I'm not sure if Piser is necessarily the best Evan I've ever seen (and yes I saw Platt twice), but his was the most powerful for me primarily because he seemed so young.

I wonder if they can fix Platt's look the way they did with Sonic after the first SONIC THE HEDGEHOG trailer landed disastrously. From what I heard, they managed to really make the Sonic character much more appealing after reworking the animation digitally. Of course, easier to do with a digital character than with real actor. I am shocked no one pointed out the problem with the wig early in the film making process. Was no one watching the dailies? Were people to frightened to speak up with Platt's dad on board as producer? Perhaps they can go back and either lighten the hair or darken the skin. I doubt they'll be able to go back and reshoot his scenes as that would be like shooting the whole movie again. Unfortunately there isn't much they can do about the curls, which again just make people look older. (Kind of gives Evan an Edith Bunker look.)

It makes little sense to compare this to GREASE since that film was a fantasy. Remember at the end the two main characters fly off in a magical car ala Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. DEH is supposed to be much more realistic.

I am still looking forward to seeing this, but I feel my biggest complaint might be Platt. Hoping this is not the case.

Updated On: 5/18/21 at 05:20 PM

JBroadway said: "CT2NYC said: "Why are people on here and other social media still talking about this movie like there were other options besides Ben? He's the reason this productionexists, and it was always going to be a star vehicle for him. If, for some reason, they had waited a few years before making it, and Ben really couldn't do it, Andrew Barth Feldman and Jordan Fisher probably wouldn't even be considered for the role anyway, so bringing up their names now is especially pointless. It just feels like the same discussion over and over again."

I’m not sure I agree that this was always going to be a Platt vehicle. Or rather, you may be right, but i don’t think that should’ve been a given. This property has proven to be financially successful without Ben Platt time and time again. Not to mention, movie musicals are in a resurgence of popularity, and teen dramas like this are still in vogue. This project would have been totally viable without Platt, especially since they have other big names in the cast.

So yeah, if this is in fact a project that was built around Platt, that just shows their stupidity all the more. And before anyone mentions it: I know it’s also nepotism, but I would classify nepotism as a kind of stupidity in cases like this.

"

I totally agree.



I would also argue that DEH made Ben Platt a star. Ben Platt didn't make DEH a success. It has also enjoyed a fruitful Broadway run without him.

I also think Platt is extremely talented. He was phenomenal as Evan in the original production. He shouldn't be playing him in the film.

CT2NYC said: "Why are people on here and other social media still talking about this movie like there were other options besides Ben? He's the reason this productionexists, and it was always going to be a star vehicle for him. If, for some reason, they had waited a few years before making it, and Ben really couldn't do it, Andrew Barth Feldman and Jordan Fisher probably wouldn't even be considered for the role anyway, so bringing up their names now is especially pointless. It just feels like the same discussion over and over again."

They're saying there were better options, not that the movie shouldn't have been made jeez