"'FOSSE/VERDON' COMING TO FX"- Page 7

[bk]

Posted: 4/11/19 at 6:33pm

henrikegerman said: "Who cares that Sweet Charity opened at the Rivoli?"

I don't know, people who appreciate and expect verisimilitude?  It would have taken ten seconds to get it right - but I'm thrilled you appreciate laziness and don't give a damn.  So, you'll be fine if they just make it up as they go, right?  Excellent!

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 4/11/19 at 8:59pm

bk said: "henrikegerman said: "Who cares that Sweet Charity opened at the Rivoli?"

I don't know, people who appreciate and expect verisimilitude? It would have taken ten seconds to get it right - but I'm thrilled you appreciate laziness and don't give a damn. So, you'll be fine if they just make it up as they go, right? Excellent!"

 bk i love you even more for that response...now can you do me a favor and give Laurie her diary back...or did you do that already?

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 4/11/19 at 11:38pm

bk, verisimilitude is something I care about,  A lot.  But I choose my battles with its lapses.

And the authenticity of which movie theatre Sweet Charity opened at in 196... whatever year it was... is not a battle worth fighting.  Or frankly even discussing.

Far better works than Fosse/Verdon - which I'm enjoying btw - have taken much greater liberties with history.   
 

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 4/12/19 at 12:49am

henrikegerman said: "bk, verisimilitude is something I care about, A lot. But I choose my battles with its lapses.

And the authenticity of whichmovie theatre Sweet Charity openedat in 196... whatever year it was... is not a battle worth fighting. Or frankly even discussing.

Far better works than Fosse/Verdon - which I'm enjoying btw - have taken much greater liberties with history.
"

It was 1969 dear...but why quibble?. According to you they could have said 1977 and you wouldn’t care...so much for authenticity or even accuracy for you. 

Just saying....

[bk]

Posted: 4/12/19 at 1:12am

CarlosAlberto said: "bk said: "henrikegerman said: "Who cares that Sweet Charity opened at the Rivoli?"

I don't know, people who appreciate and expect verisimilitude? It would have taken ten seconds to get it right - but I'm thrilled you appreciate laziness and don't give a damn. So, you'll be fine if they just make it up as they go, right? Excellent!"

bk i love you even more for that response...now can you do me a favor and give Laurie her diary back...or did you do that already?"

I kept a copy :)  

 

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 4/12/19 at 3:52am

Seems like everyone ignored my question about did Verdon really contribute as much to the choreography of Fosse productions as this miniseries indicates- iris that influenced but the MeToo movement to capitalize on a current cultural moment- and after some research I found out that Gwen actually did contribute a lot to the choreography and was a lifelong collaborator with Fosse. Very interesting. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/12/19 at 4:34pm

BWAY Baby2 said: "Seems like everyone ignored my question about did Verdon really contribute as much to the choreography of Fosse productions as this miniseries indicates- iris that influenced but the MeToo movement to capitalize on a current cultural moment- and after some research I found out that Gwen actually did contribute a lot to the choreography and was a lifelong collaborator with Fosse. Very interesting."

Its been quite documented by many who've worked with both Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon how much she was instrumental in helping him form what was to become his trademark style.  She introduced into his work Jack Cole's jazz style, whom she had worked extensively with as his assistant in Hollywood.  Gwen worked as Bob's assistant on ALL of his projects, from HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS all the way thru to STAR 80.  Bob Fosse had difficulty communicating his ideas so Gwen would handle explaining things to dancers, actors, etc.  During production of the 1969 film adaptation of SWEET CHARITY, she personally coached Shirley MacLaine in the role, which she also did with each production of SWEET CHARITY.   Bob Fosse created different interpretations of Charity which Gwen would teach, only Donna McKechnie ever performed Gwen's Charity, which she taught to Donna herself.  Also, as seen in FOSSE/VERDON, Gwen is the one who created the visual style for CABARET as well as providing Liza Minnelli vintage pieces for her Saly Bowles as authentic 30s dresses couldn't be located in Germany.  

Here are photos of Gwen doing her assisting/coaching duties on the 1969 film adaptation of SWEET CHARITY: 











 

[BeNice]

Posted: 4/12/19 at 4:45pm

These are great photos, BrodyFosse. Thanks for posting!

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 4/12/19 at 8:40pm

Amazing photos!!!! Thanks for sharing BrodyFosse!!

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 4/13/19 at 11:34am

Tuesday night of the premiere was a power outage in our neighborhood, so I finally caught the re-airing Friday night. Random thoughts-- 

Wow, is this going to be a bleak and gloomy 8 episodes! It feels like the nastiest parts of ALL THAT JAZZ run on a constant loop with the exhilarating showstoppers like the "On Broadway" cattle call omitted. I think we've got the early message pretty clearly-- he's a brilliant cad with self-esteem issues, she's a genius who's willing to sacrifice her ego for his, the producers are all a*holes, the costume designers on his pictures don't know what they're doing, and the director of photography loves dark dark recesses.

And yet, here's why I'll watch faithfully-- the direction and editing is thrilling, like any great Fosse picture. Each time the camera pans over to find flashback characters hovering in a corner of the present-day room, I smile at the smartness of the staging. (But if the show is called FOSSE/VERDON, I sure hope they remember to include some of Gwen's flashbacks too.) The performances by Sam and especially Michelle bring more life to the characters than any words they're given to say. The production design and costume design are goose-bumply beautiful. And I'm excited every time I learn another new detail in the well-documented story of these two lives. Bring on Episode 2!

 

[ggersten]

Posted: 4/13/19 at 1:58pm

 

 

Updated On: 4/13/19 at 01:58 PM

[ggersten]

Posted: 4/13/19 at 2:07pm

 

[ggersten]

Posted: 4/13/19 at 4:44pm

"it's either me or Joel Grey"

 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/14/19 at 10:18am

Like it or not, here is the MORE TO COME trailer for FOSSE/VERDON.  This is definitely 4-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams' shining hour.  Its now apparent that Bianca Marroquin's Chita Rivera (who was quickly seen in Episode 1 during the filming of SWEET CHARITY's "Big Spender", will be seen in full during the CHICAGO sections of the series.  I got chills seeing the original neon ROXIE sign used in the original 1975 Broadway production of CHICAGO.  FX truly spared no expense in their production design/recreations.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d2dEnBtrF4

 

[David10086]

Posted: 4/14/19 at 10:33am

I DVR'd the first episode this week and finally caught it last night. Not being at all familiar with the Fosse/Verdon story (yet somewhat familiar with each person) I must say the show was very entertaining and well done. From what I've caught of Verdon and Fosse via YouTube clips - yes, Williams nailed it, and so did Rockwell.  The only thing very distracting in the show is the 'bald cap' on Rockwell (I think someone else mentioned that before) which really throws some scenes off. No one in production noticed this?  

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/14/19 at 10:56am

The only thing very distracting in the show is the 'bald cap' on Rockwell (I think someone else mentioned that before) which really throws some scenes off. No one in production noticed this?  

I'd add to this as well.  Whats dumbfounding is that Rockwell actually shaved his head for this so he doesn't wear a bald cap at all.  They only need to apply the hair strands to emulate Bob Fosse's later comb-over.  The wig sections above his ears they created is giving him a bald cap look.  

This is Sam Rockwell at the 2019 Oscars in February 2019 while he was still in production on FOSSE/VERDON: 

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 4/14/19 at 11:59am

 

 

I am really interested in seeing Margaret Qualley's portrayal of Ann Reinking. I hope she does her justice. 



 

Updated On: 4/14/19 at 11:59 AM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/14/19 at 12:11pm

I am really interested in seeing Margaret Qualley's portrayal of Ann Reinking. I hope she does her justice. 

Same here.  Reinking has been involved extensively with Qualley so its an authorized portrayal.  Due to Nicole Fosse's involvement in FOSSE/VERDON and running her parent's estate, its been mentioned that the actors in the series met and spoke with the real-life people they are portraying.  

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 4/17/19 at 3:47am

Williams is stealing every episode. 

[Fredrich Yeager]

Posted: 4/17/19 at 5:34am

It seems to me to be awards bait primarily tbh. The cinematography is beautiful, and the actors do amazing work, but the writing is both too on the nose and completely inaccurate at differing times. I also think it's trying too hard to be a Mad Men type show, with lots of lingo, drinking and womanizing - following a main character who's extremely talented but morally challenged. It doesn't feel original. And when you follow that format with a real person who all and all did some not great things to the people who cared about him (not to mention all the women he sexually harassed) it feels somewhat glorifying. I actually think I would have really liked the show had it primarily followed Verdon instead.

Also, I know they had a huge production budget - could they really, truly not afford a better wig for Sam Rockwell. His hair evokes feelings of genuine disgust in me. My experience of the show was genuinely hampered by the pubes they glued onto his head and called a wig.

[kofler22]

Posted: 4/17/19 at 8:57am

Haven´t been able to watch last night´s episode...was it centered on Chicago? How come the soundtrack they released yesterday only includes one song? 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/17/19 at 9:20am

No, it went back to the beginning of their relationship and was focused on Damn Yankees.

[kofler22]

Posted: 4/17/19 at 10:33am

MemorableUserName said: "No, it went back to the beginning of their relationship and was focused on Damn Yankees."

Thanks for answering! So the trailer they released for this week´s episode wasn´t at all acurate!

Did they show Whatever Lola wants? How was Michelle? 

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 4/17/19 at 11:21am

I enjoyed last night's episode a lot more than last week's episode. The overall structure and flow was much better.

I also find these weekly recaps to be helpful. They review the episode as well as provide additional info about the characters and shows that are mentioned: http://www.playbill.com/article/fosse-verdon-recap-episode-2-whos-got-the-pain

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 4/17/19 at 11:30am

kofler22 said: "So the trailer they released for this week´s episode wasn´t at all acurate!

Did they show Whatever Lola wants? How was Michelle?"

I think you’re referring to the “Still to Come” trailer for the rest of the season, which focused on Chicago scenes.

They showed the origins of Whatever Lola Wants/Gwen’s “audition” for Bob and a solid amount of Who’s Got the Pain. Michelle is nailing it, IMO.