Meryl works some magic with her eyes in the clip. They tell stories.
On an unrelated note, BW releasing these daily "______ stars in new Into the Woods social media clip" images cracks me up. Starring in a social media image? Is this what we've come to nowadays? I hope people list those starring image roles in their Playbill bios.
@icecreambenjamin I don't get why people "didn't really like her"; I had a terrific time at the movies when I saw Mamma Mia! Sure, it was guilty pleasure material, but still, a lot of fun. I think Meryl's voice is good, and would have been better if she hadn't left Broadway all those years ago to have her spectacular film career.
"Contentment, it seems, simply happens. It appears accompanied by no bravos and no tears."
gypsy - I agree. And I hardly think we're alone. That film grossed something like $600MM.
Anyway, that "Stay With Me" clip is amazing. I'm also so pleased at how central a role this gorgeous song is playing in the film's campaign. "No One Is Alone" and "Children Will Listen" are beautiful songs deserving of their reputations, but I always thought "Stay With Me" got a bit overlooked. Anyone getting Donna Murphy vibes from "Who out there, could love you more than I?" on?
^I feel like she's channeling Donna Murphy in her singing. Gosh I wish we had a recording of Donna as the Witch. He voice causes me eargasms. gypsy101 I really loved Meryl in Mamma Mia! She made me actually enjoy the show.
That "Stay With Me" clip was glorious! I do think Streep's Witch will be my favorite (this Stay With Me is my favorite), and I cannot wait to see/hear her "What did I clearly say?" part!
In regards to the past/present/future screenings, I found these:
"Guess what. I just saw Into the Woods.
It was amazing. I know every single line of the show and can sufficiently call myself a diehard after I did the show two years ago. There were small script changes but nothing that made any actual changes to the script or any of the scenes as a whole.
It was perfect.
Meryl Streep SLAYED! The sadness she brought to the role and the love for her daughter….it was gorgeous.
Agony was more than anyone could rightfully wish it to be. JESUS CHRIST PINO AND HIS SHIRT.
Anna Kendrick…..was the best Cinderella I had yet seen in the role.
JOHNNY DEPP. IT WAS SO AMAZING. I was practically jumping up and down in my seat. You could almost feel a little bit of Mr. Todd leaking out and it was better that way. God I love his voice. It’s so singular.
JACK. DEAREST DARLING JACK AND HIS MOTHER. I played Jacks Mother when I did it and we made their backstory DEVASTATING. And you could really see something along those lines in their performances as well. And his rendition of Giants in the Sky WAS SUPERB. The boy who played Jack was absolutely darling.
Christine Baranski was ****ing hilarious as well. That woman is flawless I swear to god.
Costumes, set, music, acting. I honest to god could not find a single fault in the entire film.
I subsequently cried through the whole thing but you know whatever.
" have been to a lot of screenings over the past few months and I got to see Into The Woods at one of them. It is hands down one of my favorites so far this year. I was very familiar with the musical by Sondheim/Lapine before seeing it, but I am pretty open-minded about any medium of storytelling.
The version that I saw was kind of unfinished but was screened after the re-shoots that took place. A colleague was with me who had seen an earlier screening in Jersey that was before re-shoots. He said he didn't notice much difference. Just gonna rattle off some thoughts about the film:
-The opening sequence was divine. Really tightly edited and pulse-pounding.
-James Corden and Emily Blunt have AMAZING chemistry. They are really good together as the outsiders in this whole crazy fairy-tale world. Corden is very funny and very sweet. Joanna Gleason played The Baker's Wife (to iconic status) in the original piece and won a Tony Award for the role. Emily's work is splendid here. She sounds fantastic as a singer and her acting beats are all there. If the movie is very successful critically and commercially then I definitely could see her being nominated. I think this is a thin year for leading women and she definitely gives a great performance that will be remembered. She isn't a lock though.
-Anna Kendrick was really good too. Very funny. Her voice sounds good but I do wish she was a true lyric soprano. Cinderella's songs are so suited for a girl who can float up there. This isn't the Cinderella people are used to. It's a very interesting and feminist take on the role that people will really latch onto.
-Johnny Depp was Johnny Depp. He wasn't bad but he wasn't great either. Good thing he's only in it for a short time. His costume looks cool onscreen though. Lilla Crawford was Little Red and she was also really good. Very funny and great singer. Her film debut proves a successful one. I had some trouble understanding Daniel Huttlestone's thick-ass accent sometimes but he was good. He sings one of the most beautiful songs ever written and it's great.
-Chris Pine is FINE. I mean the camera LOVES him. Beautiful guy. I thought that was all he would bring to the character but after seeing it? HILARIOUS. He was so funny and he really went for it. The character is such an *beep* but he brought such a realness to him. I was very impressed. The other prince was ok.
-The orchestra is STUNNING. Johnathan Tunick wrote the original orchestrations for the stage play and they are back in the film version. Paul Gemignani (a Sondheim constant) conducted the orchestra for the underscoring and the songs. I mean we were just in an arthouse size but the sound was so lush and beautiful. If you know anything about acting for the musical theatre (specifically Sondheim), then you know that there are things in the orchestration that help the actor and audience understand certain things about the character. I thought they would drown out most of that with dialogue, sound effects or some other *beep* but they didn't at all. It's all there. The music is like another character in the film.
-Meryl Streep. Meryl Streep. Meryl m**********g Streep. From reading a lot of this thread I gleaned that Meryl Streep is either hated or loved here. I happen to be the latter. The reason I do love her is because she works. She understands the art form. She understands what it means to take a character apart and build him/her back up again. Her work just left me entirely dumbstruck. I have heard Meryl sing before and I thought she had a nice lovely singing voice, but she really did the work for this one. She is heartbreaking and powerful. The acting choices were just....ugh. You can't teach the kind of instincts and talent she has. Meryl just wins. I know she has haters but sorry guys, Meryl just wins. She was born to do this. People just knew her singing was gonna be like it was in Mamma Mia. They were wrong. She literally de-constructed her own singing voice to sing as The Witch. Not how Meryl would, but as The Witch would. Meryl is always good playing "mothers" too. She's won three Oscars for playing mothers. It's a role that I think is so close to her and that's why she shines there. Meryl will definitely be remembered come Oscar time but I don't think she will win. I think it's Patricia Arquette's year. BOYHOOD was a film I didn't think was all that but I do think her performance was a clear standout.
-The visual effects were done tastefully. No Alice in Wonderland or Maleficent CGI overkill. At least not in my opinion. Could be different come Christmas.
Overall I enjoyed Into The Woods very much. I can't wait to see it again. I think it could be a great success if people go into it with open minds. "Musical" is just an adjective. A genre. A story is a story.
Oscar chances are a different story though. Unless the film gets panned or has horrible box office then Meryl is a lock. If the film does good box office and gets mixed reviews then it might get Meryl and some tech nominations. No BP. If it gets great reviews and strong opening then I do believe it will make it into BP and receive nods in most categories including Best Actress for Emily Blunt. The campaign for this film is going to be serious. Disney and Marshall are very confident in the work they have done. Yes it's being promoted as a fantasy family musical but it is so much more than that. It is a film about the choices we make and their consequences. It's about death. It's about the relationships between parents and children. The power of the lessons we teach our kids whether we are there to teach them or not. It really is a profound story."
IGN Film Critic and Hitfix Contributor: Matt Patches ?@misterpatches 18m18 minutes ago [sigh of relief] INTO THE WOODS is intact. And pretty fantastic!
alexander smith ?@alexqsmith 15m15 minutes ago some v minor (gay theater-loving loser) issues, but INTO THE WOODS is such a fantastic adaptation - captures all the charm, camp, & heart
alexander smith ?@alexqsmith 13m13 minutes ago part of me wishes we could get an INTO THE WOODS rated R, but also cried thinking about kids falling in love with this vvv special musical
Lisa McMullan ?@LisaMcMullan 28m28 minutes ago Manhattan, NY You guys. @IntoTheWoods was even more perfect than I could have hoped. #IWish
#IntoTheWoods is a lavish & fun spectacle. The women are fab but darned if Chris Pine doesn't steal it. Best bet for an Oscar nod is Meryl. https://twitter.com/davekarger/statu...94499475181568
kateyrich ?@kateyrich 9m9 minutes ago Future underrated MVP of Into the Woods: Chris Pine.
^I found those tweets through the AW Forum.
This film is getting really good reviews! I have yet to read a bad one...
Judging from the footage and the buzz, Meryl Streep is getting an Oscar nomination for sure. Her "Stay with Me" is angry, emotional, sincere, and tender all at once, and her line readings in the rest of the footage are note-perfect. I also love that she talks about Bernadette Peters in that "First Look." What I like the most is that Meryl can go a little big (as in say, DOUBT) if her director doesn't rein her in, but it seems that Marshall helped her channel all of her talent into a beautiful, delicate, fun performance. Loved that clip of Depp singing. In fact, have loved every bit of singing I've heard. Honestly, the movie couldn't look better IMO.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
Hollywood Reporter's Current Oscar Predictions (INTO THE WOODS Rankings):
KEY: Category (# "Ranking" of # "Possible Contenders")
Best Picture (#9 of 27) Best Director, Marshall (#12 of 20) Best Actor, Corden (#19 of 28 ) Best Actress, Blunt (#5 of 20) Best Supporting Actor, Pine (#14 of 19) Best Supporting Actress, Streep (#4 of 21) Best Adapted Screenplay (#5 of 13) Best Costume Design (#1 of 21) Best Film Editing (#13 of 19) Best Makeup & Hairstyling (#1 of 15) Best Production Design (#1 of 16)
User comments: "Hate to break it to you, but there's absolutely no chance Into the Woods will be nominated for any major acting category, let alone Best Picture. Also what's up with your Foxcatcher beef?"
"Love these predictions! Out of curiosity, Scott, have you seen or heard much about Into The Woods? Pleasantly surprised to see Emily Blunt as a contender, as I expect it will be between her and Hilary Swank for that fifth Best Actress slot."
"Brave choices for Best Picture...not sure I agree with the inclusion of Interstellar and Into the Woods. No one has seen Into the Woods yet so I find it strange that it is still listed in so many categories. The trailer looks okay at best, I don't buy the Oscar hype (yet, at least). Actress slot is between Swank/Adams (even if Big Eyes isn't spectacular). I do think Carrell misses the cut."
I also don't buy the Oscar hype for ITW. People were fanboying out over the Les Mis trailer and overhyping it also. The only nomination ITW has a likely shot in at this point is supporting actress.
Les Mis went on to win the GG for Best Picture Comedy/Musical (not terribly hard for a movie musical, but still not inevitable) and still got 8 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, so I'm not quite sure what your point is. Les Mis didn't sweep the Oscars as one random pundit predicted, but it still lived up to a good deal of awards hype. More so than Dreamgirls or (sadly) Sweeney Todd did.
Half of these predictions really aren't worth anything as pundits are predicting based on pedigree of the film and on very limited footage. We'll start to see more detailed analyses of ITW's awards chances when the industry screenings start to happen.
"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.
Take note that in the leaked screenplay the lyric of "I Know Things Now" was "Nice is better than good" when in the B-Roll, it's the original: "Nice is different than good".
That's an awesome amount of footage and we got a quick glimpse of Frances de la Tour (speaking with Rob Marshall) as The Giant's Wife.
If you look at the BWW clip of "Stay with Me" their breathing is in there as is Rapunzel's audible reactions. I am judging by the playbill one that it wasn't fully mixed. The BWW clip has a more present and complete sound. It was what I was worried about when playbill posted it, clearly a rough mix from the vocal track.
"I think lying to children is really important, it sets them off on the right track" -Sherie Rene Scott-
When the Witch sings "Who out there could love you more than I? What out there that I cannot supply?", she should be desperately sad, not angry like Meryl does it. Her performance is good in the rest of it but not there. She's losing her daughter and wondering why her love isn't enough. Angry doesn't fit that situation.
Just got back from the screening at the DGA theater. Like many here, I am an enormous Into The Woods fan. So here's an honest take:
Highlights:
Almost everything with Meryl Streep. She rocked the Witch's socks off. "Stay With Me" and "Last Midnight" were incredible. As were all of her small moments.
"On the Steps of the Palace" and "Giants in The Sky" were so well done. Especially "On the Steps of the Palace." They really made that beautifully cinematic (while they failed at "I Know Things Now").
"Agony" is hilarious. Well-shot and just funny. Got the biggest applause of the movie.
The introduction (12 minutes long, according to Rob Marshall) is pretty seamless. There's a bit of unnecessary dialog... but all in all it's great.
"Children Will Listen (reprise)" / the ending. Well done. Meryl sounds beautiful and it wraps up the movie nicely.
Lowlights:
Johnny Depp / The Wolf / "I Know Things Now". Whose concept was that? It's the one major pitfall of the movie. Dumb. Lilla Crawford is excellent, though. So similar to Danielle Ferland, and in a very good way. But jesus that flashback to the Wolf's stomach.
The transitions. A few were beautiful, but most were clunky. All of the missing songs were replaced with forced dialog.
Oscar Potential:
Meryl, Cinematography and Costumes should and probably will be nominated. The rest could get nominations, but I'd be surprised if they win.
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