Into the Woods Official Movie Thread- Page 2

[TBFL]

Posted: 12/19/12 at 7:29pm

Im surprising myself by saying this.... but... id quite like to see James Corden continue in the role of the Baker. The part he played in the read throughs. He can play that humble, non assuming type really well and i think he could make it a very emotional journey. He can sing too,

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 1/13/13 at 10:58am

I haven't read this whole thread, but has Gillian Anderson been tossed around for the Baker's Wife? Or perhaps for the witch? She's aged really well. I don't know about her singing though.

I've been watching a lot of X-Files too.

[TheHappyPhantom]

Posted: 1/13/13 at 2:37pm

This is a movie musical based on a Sondheim show. Big names won't help much at the box office. Look at Sweeney Todd. Johnny Depp's groaning not only butchered the score, but didn't make for a hit movie. Keep artistic integrity and cast SINGERS.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 1/13/13 at 3:00pm

You're saying that Sweeney Todd compromised on artistic integrity? You know Sweeney got for the most part great reviews, right? 83 on Metacritic, 86% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Lots of people, myself included, consider it one of the finest movie musicals in quite some time.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/13/13 at 3:03pm

I'm going to guess Warners and Dreamworks were not entirely displeased with Sweeney. It had an estimated budget of fifty million and made just a little over three times that worldwide (about fifty-two million domestically). It also picked up an Oscar nomination for Depp and costume designer Colleen Atwood, as well as winning the award for art direction. Yes, it's not the big prize, but they can still slap "the Oscar Winning film" moniker on all future marketing.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/13/13 at 3:50pm

I love how people like to say "big names won't help a movie musical," but when was the last time a musical film with no big names was a hit?

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 1/13/13 at 3:56pm

best12bars, even further, when was the last time a musical film with no big names was made?

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/13/13 at 3:58pm

I'm thinking Jesus Christ, Superstar ... 1776 ... Fiddler on the Roof ... Oliver ...

So maybe 40-ish years ago?

EDIT: I would say "Rent," but it did have Rosario Dawson and Jessie L. Martin who were both pretty well known by larger movie & TV audiences.

By the way, it's interesting that both Superstar and Fiddler had the same director, Norman Jewison, who was a "star director" himself (a "name director" in other words). He didn't use established stars in either film.

Fiddler was a hit, but Superstar was not. (Neither was 1776.)

Oliver! was also a hit (and won Best Picture).

Updated On: 1/13/13 at 03:58 PM

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 1/13/13 at 4:05pm

Big names in movie musicals is always tricky in my opinion. On the one hand, most of these stars don't have the voices and I'd love for Broadway actors to get more exposure, but on the other these names expose people to musicals who may have never had an interest before. I know a lot of people who discovered how much they like musicals through seeing Sweeney Todd, and the only reason that they went was to see Johnny Depp. It's kind of cool! It might not be the most direct or artistic exposure, but it's nice to see the interest peak.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/13/13 at 4:12pm

I do think in today's market you can get away with casting one or two key musical film roles (even a lead) with unknowns or relative unknowns. You need to make sure for every "Jennifer Hudson" or "Ellen Greene" you have plenty of star power surrounding them. It's less of a risk, and ensures that at least one role will have someone who was cast purely on ability and not on salability.

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 1/13/13 at 4:20pm

Very true, I'm guessing that even Anika Noni Rose in Dreamgirls was a risk. I'm so glad that she got that exposure going on to be Tiana and all.

Then again in the case of Lorell, I'm not sure if any major name would want that part especially with Beyonce as Deena.

I keep forgetting that Dreamgirls was Sharon Leal's jump into film as well. So in a sense, 2 of the 4 Dreams were not names, while Jennifer Hudson was only a runner up on AI. I guess the producers felt that the film was sufficiently balanced by having Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, and Eddie Murphy in such memorable roles

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/13/13 at 4:29pm

With "Into the Woods," it's more of an ensemble piece, but I would say once you get past the Witch, the Baker, the Baker's Wife, and perhaps Cinderella, you're "out of the woods" and can cast lesser knowns around it.

But I have a feeling that's not going to happen. Marshall loaded up Nine. I hope he doesn't feel a need (or studio pressure) to do that again. It can actually be distracting, especially in smaller roles where a star's presence can sometimes pull or completely blow the focus of the story.

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 1/13/13 at 4:50pm

It also depends on the adaptation. For whatever reason, Burton/Producers felt it necessary to cut the chorus from Sweeney Todd which made everything else seem out of place. I understand it, but it put too much emphasis on the singing and ruined the surprise. Every time I've seen Sweeney Todd, when it's done well, I forget the twist. I knew it from the beginning in the movie. That's my major gripe. It has nothing to do with casting.

The best thing Into the Woods has going for it is that its mostly sung, like the successful Les Mis. I got into it with a guy on another board about how he hated that they didn't change any of the singing to dialogue. He felt it would've made a better movie. I disagreed.

In my opinion, the witch is the one that'll carry the billing. The Baker and the Baker's Wife need to be known, but B will suffice. Every thing else can be fresh talent. I really don't want another NEW YEARS DAY where it takes ten minutes to get through the credits.

I'm basing my casting on the only song to make it on the pop charts, and that was "Children Will Listen".

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 1/13/13 at 4:53pm

Does anyone know or have a guess as to when the cast for this will be announced or when it will actually be released?

[bobs3]

Posted: 1/14/13 at 2:33pm

They are shooting for a principal photography start date in late spring/early summer 2013 at Warner Bros. Studios in London (Warners is co-financing with Disney) with a projected release date in December 2014.

[darquegk]

Posted: 1/14/13 at 3:05pm

Two formalist questions that the triumph of Les Miserables raises:

1. Will we be seeing the return of the live-sung technique for Into The Woods, or will it be studio-recorded and then mimed as is the standard?

2. Given the ambiguous fairy-tale nature of setting and time, will we be going Brit or American (or mixed) for the "style" presented by our cast?

If the Baker and Baker's Wife can be B-list, I wouldn't mind seeing Great Britain's Tennant and Tate duo- they both sing ENOUGH, and the Baker and Wife are not Javert (although I didn't have much of a problem with Javert- his singing may not have worked on the stage, but it didn't seem to fail the movie's style). David Tennant and Catherine Tate have teamed up for West End, Shakespeare, television's Doctor Who, and other projects, and are of the right age and types for such a film.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/14/13 at 3:11pm

^ I'm going to guess we will see more live singing. "Into the Woods" has several songs that are almost conversational or that go in and out of actual dialogue. Perhaps on a few of the bigger (more sung) songs like Stay With Me, Last Midnight, and even the chorus work, that might be done in a studio and actually work better than having everything sung live.

But "He's a Very Nice Prince" or "I Know Things Now" or even the opening sequence could be great if it were live.

That would also depend on who's cast and if they can handle it.

Part of me still wishes they would cast Sandra Bullock as the Baker's Wife and then dub her. She would be such a great choice for that role, but she can't sing.

(And yes, I know the chance of that happening is pretty nonexistent.)

Updated On: 1/14/13 at 03:11 PM

[random person 112]

Posted: 1/14/13 at 3:38pm

I would love to see someone like Tina Fey or Elizabeth Banks as the Bakers wife. Paul Rubb or Will Ferrell as The Baker. I could see the Witch going to anyone though I do wish they would give it to Megan Hilty.

[madbrian]

Posted: 1/14/13 at 3:53pm

I'd prefer Toni Collette as the Baker's Wife.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/14/13 at 4:15pm

It never ceases to amaze me how many of you think this is going to be a filmed version of the stage play.

Where on earth did that come from?

[Jon]

Posted: 1/14/13 at 4:36pm

I think it would be in the best interest of the box office to go young. Daniel Radcliffe as the Baker. Anna Kendrick as his wife. Samantha Barks as Cinderella. Actual children as Jack and Little Red.



Updated On: 1/14/13 at 04:36 PM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 1/14/13 at 4:50pm

Too much is done in the name of box office, I get it's a reality, but I think that you could have solid box office by having a mixed group of people in the vein of LES MISERABLES. There's plenty of young roles in INTO THE WOODS, why make the Baker and his Wife younger than they need to be?

[CHOOKA2]

Posted: 1/14/13 at 5:36pm

Neither did Hugh/Russell/Amanda and even Ann to my ears, have the voices for those roles--but they got them anyway.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 1/14/13 at 5:53pm

Having the baker and his wife be played by younger actors takes away the urgency of their need to have kids. Audiences will likely think that they have the rest of their lives ahead of them. I'm not saying they should be played by almost 40yo's but not in their early 20s.

[darquegk]

Posted: 1/14/13 at 6:45pm

I feel like we can definitely expect a more sung-through Woods than we would have in the Sweeney Todd-to-Nine era, thanks to Les Miserables revitalizing that approach on film for the mainstream. People may feel that if Woods is put to more dialogue and dubbed singing/"pretty voices" it will lack the visceral immediacy that Les Mis, despite its more controversial cinematic and directorial choices, does seem to possess.