Into the Woods Official Movie Thread — Page 61

Look at what BWW just posted.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Daniel-Huttlestone-Is-Jack-In-INTO-THE-WOODS-Movie-20130807

"God is dead and we killed him. "

^Exactly.

I have no guilt in saying that Sophia Grace seems like the absolute worst casting choice ever. I have nothing against her, but really...she is cast in a lead role in one of Sondheim's most complex works? I mean, I knew Disney is producing it, but I thought with Sondheim and other Broadway vets involved that they would be able to keep some of the adult themes in from the show. Disney has produced darker movies...but this obviously won't be one of them. A sad day indeed.

But perhaps this Tweet is a fake or a lie. Perhaps there still is hope. Perhaps, even with this horrible choice the movie will be great. I hope they all prove me wrong...I doubt they will.

Given that she is only 8-years-old, I assume all of the sexual undertones will be gone. But with Disney at the helm, that's no surprise.

I agree, but there's no chance in hell that Disney will even hint at anything remotely sexual with an 8-year-old child. Clearly Disney and Marshall seem to have a new conception of Jack and Red.

I usually don't complain about casting once I see a movie, but this just doesn't sit well. "Hello, Little Girl" and "I Know Things Now" are two of my favorite showtunes, and for them to be changed in any way upsets me. I don't see this working. I've only seen her on Ellen and both little girls are annoying. Fun to watch, but I don't think there's any talent.

I do find Jack's casting to work. I loved him in Les Mis. I think he can pull it off.

I'll just wait and see.

That is kinda the point of the Little Red Riding Hood story to begin with. To warn children of the dangers of talking to strangers, as they can be predators. If it is creepy, that is appropriate.

Yes, I have. That wolf is a predator. Hence the song I Know Things Now. That is the entire reason that the wolf is used in the story. The wolf is a predatory animal. The wolf has ruined Little Red's childhood, and has forced her into adulthood. It is perfectly acceptable for the relationship between the two to be creepy as hell.

Yes, it is loaded with undertones, and I am sure they will play out as disturbingly creepy, as they should.

This is just the end of the world as we know it, to have two kids play characters that are historically children in a Fairy Tale story!

Remember how awful it was to have Tobias as a child in Sweeney Todd? (He was one of the best things in the film.)

They'll be fine. They'll both probably walk away with the whole movie and steal it from the adult "movie stars."

And they will also bring in a younger audience to see the movie. Kids will have someone to relate to on screen, not just that "old woman" playing Cinderella. Or that other "old woman" playing Rapunzel.

---

Hopefully, they can tone down the Cockney for both Huttlestone and James Corden, who is also difficult to understand a lot of the time.

I think it will help if their songs are prerecorded. They'll have unlimited chances to enunciate, instead of just one.

I think having an American director will help. Marshall might not be as quick as Hooper was to let thick British accents slide by.

---

Updated On: 8/7/13 at 06:54 AM

You don't have to go overboard or even suggest the sexual overtones with Little Red's and the Wolf's songs.

She says she "knows things now." She doesn't say she "does things now."

It's a loss of innocence, not virginity.

She only says don't put your faith in superficial things. They won't protect you from the bad things out there.

How smutty you want to make these songs mostly lies in the minds of the audience, not in the words that Sondheim wrote.

And the Wolf is a carnal predator. He wants to eat Little Red. Again, the lyrics doen't take it any further than that, but they do a number on the audience. If anyone is getting f*cked here, it's the audience with their own dirty minds.

And I'm guessing that's exactly the way Sondheim and Lapine wanted it.

Casting a real little girl as Little Red only makes the audience work harder (and squirm more) to find the "dirty parts." They can't sit back and say, "well, look, it's the girls sexual awakening," because it isn't. They'll have to see that in their own minds.

Speaking of "dirty parts," I wouldn't look for an anatomically correct Wolf in this movie. No way. But that won't stop the audience from looking for it.

---

Updated On: 8/7/13 at 09:12 AM

"I knew Disney is producing it, but I thought with Sondheim and other Broadway vets involved that they would be able to keep some of the adult themes in from the show"

Sondheim seems like a pushover when it comes to letting people perform his work.

I really dislke Sophia's singing voice. Her rendition of "Rollin in the deep" was Nails on a chalkboard. Super Pitchy and just bad. She does seem to know how to act though.

---

Updated On: 8/7/13 at 09:30 AM

Don't forget letting Burton cast his Whisper Wife in an iconic role. I'm guessing ITW is going to be glittered with too much CGI.

---