Movie Musicals coming soon....

I, TONYA: The Musical starring Amanda Seyfried, Jake Gyllenhaal & Tilda Swinton.

Hoping ALW's SUNSET BOULEVARD will finally make it to the screen - preferably with Streisand. If not, Glenn Close.

Seems many are unaware that Norma Desmond is only 50 years old. Many assume she's a crazy "old lady.". Nope. She's only 50 years old. Gloria Swanson was 49 years old when filming started on the original 1950 film. Glenn Close was 48 years old when she did the role on Broadway back in 1995, so she was age apropo in casting. Glenn is 70 now and Streisand is 75.

I would love to see a Miss Saigon movie in the near future. But only if it's done right.

Most of the material is about sung thoughts, so they should approach the songs and the scenes in a non-literal way. And embrace the arftorm of storytelling through songs and image. For example, last night of the world should be better than life, because it's their thoughts being sung. That scene should be very theatrical, not literal. They should also embrace the sung-through style, instead of constantly switching and speaking 4 words and use vibrato on the 5th. That's apologizing for the artform. A literal dry performance on the floor of an empty concrete room does not make the emotions more raw in this artform. They really should play with it and let the music soar and carry the story. After Kim shoots Thuy she goes into a black space in her mind. Show it. Imagine what they could do with a big choir of ghosts in a big black undefined space. The transition between Kim and Ellen in "I still believe" could also be amazing, we could also see shots of Kim's parents and past in certain scenes. Pre-recorded songs and all the magic film has to offer.

Imagine what they could do with the bar scene at the opening, Kim's nightmare and the American Dream.

I really feel that the usual amount of time movies get to prepare would be too short for this one. In les Miserables for example, (aside from the horrible literal approach of apologizing for the artform by doing a live theatre performance on a pavement, speaking 4 words and use vibrato on the 5th, asking the audience to constantly switch, sometimes multiple times in one line) many scenes are just wasted by bad preparation. For example one of he most important moments of the film, where Valjean is busted for stealing the silver and the priest rescues him and sings to the guards; "and god's belling goes with you. But remember this my brother..etc". There is no pause between these lines. The whole moment was wasted and rushed, it looked like the director had no clue about that moment and read the script for the first time then and there and just had some actors showing up in front of a background and speak-bleating their lines right there and then for the first time and that was it. That scene could have, and should have been exquisite with the right preparation and execution.

They should find a director who understands this. And also understand that music and singing is emotion and that audiences are very used to it.

About the casting. They should find a marvelous Kim. I think in a few years Angelica Hale would be perfect for the role, when she's about 16. She has that pristine vocal quality and the right poise for the role. I bet she would bring in audiences too. She really evokes emotion through song. I'd like to see a young Chris too.

On the other hand, I also hope that Boublil & Schonberg and Cameron are involved with the project too, so they shouldn't wait for another decade as you never know if everybody will still be around. But 5 years from now would be good in terms of preparation.

I truly hope this movie will be unlike anything we have seen before. A triumph of cinematography with great acting AND singing. It can be done.

Updated On: 1/2/18 at 06:54 PM

BrodyFosse123 said: "Hoping ALW's SUNSET BOULEVARD will finally make it to the screen - preferably with Streisand. If not, Glenn Close.

Seems many are unaware that Norma Desmond is only 50 years old. Many assume she's a crazy "old lady.". Nope. She's only 50 years old. Gloria Swanson was 49 years old when filming started on the original 1950 film. Glenn Close was 48 years old when she did the role on Broadway back in 1995, so she was age apropo in casting. Glenn is 70 now and Streisand is 75. "

even if that was literally Gloria Swanson’s age when the original film was made, you surely know enough about culture and society to know that being 50 back in 1950 was worlds different from being 50 today. for an actress today in her fifties, that is often when they do their best work and are still relevant. when Barbra was 50 she had just directed Prince of Tides. the world is not the same as it was back when the film was made so i think someone like Barbra (or perhaps the woman herself) would be perfect for a film adaptation of the musical.

as for Dave28282.... no offense but you’ve talked about this alleged film of Miss Saigon for years and have had nothing new or interesting to say about for most of that time. no need to keep exhausting yourself and your readers with the same points about it being nonliteral and sung thoughts. we know how you feel. enough is enough.

Barbra has said a number of times in interviews that she was offered the film version of SB twice, and turned it down. Not going to happen. Thank God "Gypsy" never happened - I never thought it would - as that would have been just awful.

gypsy101 said: "no need to keep exhausting yourself and your readers with the same points about it being nonliteral and sung thoughts. we know how you feel. enough is enough."

I'm just passionate about it. Because whenever a movie musical is going into production, it seems like the director and other creators are too overwhelmed to handle the material with all it's nuances and step into the same pitfalls every time. It results in a bunch of cheap, wasted scenes. If there is any movie that needs great acting flowing out of great singing, it's this one.

The last good singing I've heard in a film was Lea Salonga in 1992's Aladdin. I've never seen great acting and singing combined on film since Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music.

Also for movies like Sunset Boulevard I already see the pitfalls coming. Glenn Close bleating her way through the material, acting in spite of song. Then why the hell keep the songs in the film? Then just let me see her act without the struggle of singing getting in her way. Of course they can't hire a Joe that sings circles around her either, and they seem to have a general idea that audiences get mental breakdowns when the singing in a movie is actually good. While audiences actually get mental breakdowns if the actor is apologizing for the singing by constantly switching. Because that is not what works in this artform.

I think it's time for a breakthrough. Something new. Pristine acting combined with pristine singing. On film. The first flows out of the second if it's the person's natural talent. Notes are actors too. One note can convey multiple emotions in tone, color and clarity. This has nothing to do with the language of speaking. It's a different world. Especially with a score such as Miss Saigon's, where every smallest lyric exactly matches the tone and intonation and length of the note and dynamic of the melody to convey the right feeling per moment. I could dissect every word and note from this show and it still is perfection.

This is so masterfully done by the writers, so refined that it would be a crime not to respect that. Film is the perfect medium to paint with this musical nuances. That's storytelling through song.

Especially with the overwhelming possibilities of film. Editing and pre-recording create better than life/heightened emotions which present the sung thoughts. That's why I love in Beauty and the Beast for example, the first verse of "something there" which is also about sung thoughts, is just used as a voice over, so we don't see Belle's mouth moving, we see the character acting and thinking and stuff happening. Unfortunately in the live action film they stepped into the pitfall of a too literal approach again and they had her mouthing everything. When will they learn that playing with well sung, sung thoughts in film creates magic instead of making everything literal, live and toning it down to speak-bleating? At least the pre-recording gave a somewhat filmic experience, even though the singing was inadequate.

Updated On: 2/24/18 at 12:58 PM

I completely agree with your statement but until now filmmakers (and yourself) have interpreted it wrongly.

Film has much more opportunities to create magic. It has the ability to use (sung) music as a voice-over, filmic editing, cinematography, creating better than life thoughts/worlds, flashbacks, time-lapses, fantastic camera work, etc.

It has the ability to avoid the pitfall of a too literal approach with this artform. The language of singing is per definition not literal. So directly combining it to speaking and switching all the time in 1 line is not the solution to take audiences with you in a movie where this is the chosen language. That's apologizing for it. Being scared of it. Half baked.

And yet, for example the Les Miserables film does exactly this. It is nothing more than a theatre performance on a pavement. But then a live theatre performance with the exact wrong choices. For example the line "Now come one ladies, settle down", in every stage version I have seen on screen (10th anniversary, 25th anniversary) this scene looks and sounds extremely filmic. The line is sung in a completely natural way that feels real and truthful, and the word "down" is kept short. That is essential in this line to make it feel real, natural and filmic. "Now come on ladies, settle down". In the `Les Mis film, Hugh Jackman speaks the first 5 words: "Now....come.....on.....ladies.....settle......and then uses a 5 second vibrato on the word Doooooooooooooooooooooooooooown. He makes the down (the exact wrong word you can't hold for too long here) way too long, completely separates it, makes it laughable, way too theatrical and forces audiences to constantly switch. This is not filmic. "There...is... something... I...must...doooooooooooooooooooooooooo", same case. There are certain other notes that should be held long, which he keeps short, but you need someone who understands this language.

What heightens emotions in singing on screen lies in the opposite. It's not actors acting in spite of singing.

Updated On: 1/2/18 at 07:00 AM

Other than "A Star is Born," none of these is -- as the thread asks -- "coming soon." And the right way to do a "Miss Saigon" movie is not to do one. That racist musical is unredeemable.

David10086 said: "Hoping ALW's SUNSET BOULEVARD will finally make it to the screen - preferably with Streisand. If not, Glenn Close.

Would also love to see a new 'A Little Night Music' movie."

Are you high? There isn't enough Vasoline
and gauze in the world to make Streisand
or Close look 50 in a close-up.

As for ALNM, what will be the
merchandising tie-in, how will any
version bring in the kiddies?

We're getting two unnecessary movie musical sequels next year.

Mamma Mia: Here I Go Again - July 2018

Mary Poppins Returns - December 2018

All this talk about Norma having to be fifty is pure nonsense. Keep in mind it's a movie, not a documentary and any great actress (Streisand, Streep, Lange, Close, etc) can play the role no matter the age. By dropping one word from the script - "fifty" - the right actress is in the role.

Don't forget - Diahann Carroll (who won rave reviews), Petula Clark, Rita Moreno were all in their 60s 20+ years ago when they took the stage to play 50 year old Norma Desmond. And, of course, Glenn Close was 70 this year. It's more about the actress - less about the age.