Richard Linklater - Merrily We Roll Along — Page 4

I hope they don't record the numbers until they need to film them. Imagine trying to act to a vocal performance from 20 years ago... It will be interesting to hear their voices age too. And Ben Platt has, what, 16 years to rehearse 'Franklin Shepard, Inc'?

I wonder how much Linklater's going to plan in advance. Having to sustain a vision for two decades, and having no chance to do reshoots or rewrites before the edit.

MichelleCraig said: "Finally, this thread has the possibility of becoming the longest thread in the history of Broadway World!"

Please can this thread be bumped every year! You know, to keep the memory alive.

The moreI think about this, the more I think it is a dumb idea. We have to wait 20 years to see the film version of a known property. This was not the case with Boyhood. I fear that lightening will not strike twice.

The gimmick was really clever the first time, and we really saw a child grow into adolescence. Platt and Feldstein are already adults AND talented performers. They are going to grow older, but they are not going to change the way the boy in Boyhood did (can't remember his name).

I assume that a musical would cost more lo produce than a small drama. What happens if Ben Platt of Beanie of the person in the other lead role are not around to finish the movie...will they then use CGI to complete it? Will they script and create another failed movie legend?

Couple of questions come up reading all this-- If they already shot the scene with the 3 leads at their youngest, wouldn't that be the Graduation scene/ valedictorian speech and "Hills of Tomorrow" rather than "Our Time"? Or do we know for a fact that that version of the show has been chucked for the movie?

Do we get "Rich and Happy" or "That Frank"? Do we get "The Blob"? "Honey?" "Growing Up"? There have been so many revisions to this score over the years that it rivals "BOUNCE"/ "WISE GUYS"/ "ROAD SHOW"...

Beyond maintaining the cast, wouldn't they need to insure against anything happening to Linklater? The DP? The Production Designer?

And most important, are they honoring the time frame of the original show, which spanned from 1956 to 1980 (24, not the 20 years you all keep mentioning). And were they to switch up the years the story takes place, who the hell would they hire to rewrite Sondheim's original lyrics which constantly refer to the particular years in which the original was set? ...Which all makes me very curious if the present script is locked, or could morph into something different over the 2 decades the film takes to shoot and edit.

If there's anyone out there close to the production who could enlighten us, we'd all be in your debt.

John Adams said: "...and what about the advancement of technology in 20 years? Will 2-D, widescreen format still be entertaining enough? Will VR advance to a point where the current format will seem "soooo 2019"? In 2039, will audiences be saying, "Whydidn't he just deepfake it?"

Will the actors be obligated to "age appropriately", in a business where it's beneficial to always look younger than your chronological age?

I saw "Boyhood". I didn't find the age progression to be that noticeable amongthe adult actors. Also, I thought the age progression was just plain gimmicky, and completely unnecessary considering the story/plot was fictional. For me, it was no more interesting than viewing any stranger's progression of grade school to high school photos (big whoop...). It didn't do enough to enhance the plot or the storytelling.The biggest disappointment, for me, was that Coltrane's acting did not get better as he grew older. I thought he appeared more natural onscreen when he was younger.

And I do understand that it's not just aboutlooks. The actors will actually be 20 years older --- but 20 years older asthemselves, in their own lives - not as the characters they will be playing. They won't have aged with each other in the same way, so what's the point? If this were a documentary, I could find more value in the actual aging process; but it's fiction. Regardless of the 'reality' of their ages, their character are still 'make-believe' and will need to be acted.

I'm reminded of the Chorus Linedocumentary ('EveryLittle Step', and the actress who was auditioning for Sheila. There was a long stretch of time between her first audition and the callback. She lost the role (IMO) because she couldn't remember what she'd done that impressed them so much in her first audition. I wonder if these actors will be compensated to "stay in the moment" for the next 20 years...?
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Surely the whole point of filming it this way is so they will be in different moments, that they specifically won't "stay in the moment."

Or cowardly? But somehow, Sondheim has become the guy who loves all the recent adaptations from his work, from the overall acceptable Into the Woods to the incompetent Sweeney Todd. That this is the same guy who hates the movie version of West Side Story baffles me.

ljay889 said: "All I can say is WTF?
This before an adaption of Company, Follies, and Sunday is downright shocking. And who wants to wait 20 years to see this?"

All I can say is I can see this being a huge success.

First of all, I can see Merrily working very well on film.

Second, what do you mean "this before,"? "This" gives decades for Company, Follies and Sunday, etc. to reach the screen before "this" premiers.

Third, though lately I'm wondering if Linkater might have lost his touch ("Bernadette" is all over the place in tone with much of it tone deaf) Boyhood showed his longitudinal instincts can be right on.

Fourth, Platt and Feldstein are exciting choices... and they may well be box office two decades from now.

I think it is an awful, awful idea. I mean, so much can happen in 20 years. People die, people can get injured, people can have terrible plastic surgery. It's just too much time to invest in something that I don't think too many people care about in the first place?

KnewItWhenIWasInFron said: "Surely the whole point of filming it this way is so they will be in different moments, that they specifically won't "stay in the moment.""

"Surely"? I'm not as sure about Linklater's point for filming this way as you (which is why I asked, 'What's the point?', but I'd be interested to hear from Linklater RE: that aspect.

"Merrily..." is fiction. I'm not sure how (or to what extent) documenting the actual passage of time might add value to a predetermined, fictional plot line.

Regardless of what happens to these actors in their real lives over the next 20 years (including their physical aging), they will still bound by the scripted plot of the book. UNLESS Linklater is planning to do rewrites of the book based on the realities of the actors' lives as they age. ...but that might be a Pandora's box of issues regarding incorporating the score, as written.

It is more interesting (for me) to see how actors interpret any script (fiction) in the present. ...'Ya know - that thing called, "acting".

Very similar concept/"plot" - already accomplished - is the ITV "Seven Up" documentary series. Documenting the passage of time on film makes more sense, and is MUCH more interesting to me because the filmmakers captured the uncertainty of the future, and the audience was able to internalize the journey with the "cast".

I don't know how Linklater intends to capture that effect, or what purpose the reality of time will serve when the vehicle is a scripted (...and already known to at least some) book.

PS: It's interesting to note that the original article from Collider states, "Representatives for Linklater, Platt, Feldstein and Blumhouse did not respond to requests for comment."

To me, that indicates a possibility that this project may not be a "definite".

Updated On: 9/5/19 at 11:28 AM

Please God let the next 20 years bring a more thrilling way to gossip about the goings on on Broadway than this old board. I promise to contribute my unvarnished opinion on the MERRILY film in 2040 if I can still find the buttons on my laptop...

Perhaps they'll end up with a more interesting (or diverse) performer than the alleged abuser, too. It may have been that they were planning to start reshooting before Covid halted everything. Full quote:



But of course, with [Merrily], like all the others, there’s been a lot of challenges because of COVID. It was already going to be such a difficult and long, arduous task to commit to, and we’re all very passionate about still trying to make it work, but we’re going to have to start at square one as soon as COVID allows.

DEADLINE: I thought at least one sequence had already been filmed.

PLATT: We have to reshoot that, the small amount that was filmed. So it’s really like we’re starting over.