Rob Marshall Directing Into the Woods Film For Disney- Page 4

[undercoveractor]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 4:36am

I would like Toni Colette as 'Bakers Wife'

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 5:17am

Of course everyone knows that in the mid 90s Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel wrote a screenplay, Sondheim wrote a new I Wish opening and a song Rainbows, and two all star read throughs were done for a movie version--Jim Henson Productions were involved and would do all the animals. It was greenlit, but then got lost when the studio (not sure which) went through a re-shuffling and most older projects were dropped--Sondheim mentions this in look I Made a Hat and gives the I Wish and Rainbow lyrics (I wish is heavily staged by Sondheim--something he seems keen to try to do with a film but has admitted that when he's done it before--like for the Back in Business montage for Dick Tracy and parts of the Night Music film his planned new staging for songs was ignored).

I always assumed Sondheim was slightly apathetic about this version since the reports at the time in Sondheim Review were that it would largely lose the second act, only condensing some of it into the family film. But in Look I Made a Hate he seems genuinely regretful that it didn't get made (he also mentions talking to Henson when it happened, a date he gives I believe as 1995, which seems odd since Jim died five years before). I'm all for Henson involvement (Heson's films after all could get fairly dark) and would love to hear the new songs, but the fact Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandeldid the script makesme think it would be a pretty broad slapstick comedy...

I wonder if ANY of that (the new songs, puppet creatures, elements of the script) will be connected to this?

Anyway I'll give it a chance. With Hollywood getting scared (according to Variety) once again by more serious musicals, ITW seems like our most likely chance to get Sondheim on the screen again, and I think a valid film version, even if toned down, couldbe made. Marshall seems a bad choice--he disappoints me more and more with each major film (Annie was cute, Chicago was good but his directing and choreography grossly overated, Memoirs of a Geisha was pretty and not much else, and Nine was a mess--haven't bothered with Pirates of the Carribean). This wouldbe something different for Marshall which couldbe good...

Still, it sounds like it's a long way off if it happens--Thin Man (what an awful idea) is fairly far in development I've heard.

(Even more so from reading Look I Made a Hat I wish someone would make the William Goldman/Sondheim movie musical Singing Out Loud that *almost* got made around the same time, even if it sounds pretty dated to the 90s and also sounds like it both would be squarely aimed at adults, and because of its central film concept VERY expensive to make...)

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 6:35am

The Thin Man is a bad idea, because it was a product of its time. The end of prohibition and a celebration of a new "partying" way of life. That series was as much about "cocktail hour" as it was about solving mysteries. It was "frothy" and "current" and "witty."

Today, it would feel like two alcoholic society snobs playing detective.

Not a good move, whether you leave it as a politicially-incorrect period piece or you update it. It still won't "play" either way. I love the old movies, but it's the equivalent of trying to revive those old Mickey & Judy minstrel numbers for a new audience. Good luck with that.

[random person 112]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 6:37am

I wonder if they'll use animation or not, and as strange as it sounds we should all be hoping they do, then we can see some broadway actors get at least some of the voice over jobs if not all.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 6:47am

I would like Toni Collette and Paul Giamatti for the Baker and his wife.
Catherine Zeta-Jones as the Witch
Julie Walters as Jack's Mother
Eddie Redmayne as Jack
Ian McKellan as the Narrator/Old Man
Evan Rachel Wood as Cinderella
James Marsden as Cinderella's Prince
James Franco as Rapunzel's Prince
Susan Sarandon as Cinderella's Stepmother

[random person 112]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 6:49am

would we even need real names for this piece i mean we pretty promote as a reinvented fairy tale and get away without having to cast a single name.

[peachesr82]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 8:03am

I'm willing to give this a chance. At least Rob Marshall, whether he gets it right every time or not, is willing to push the musical film back to the forefront and take those risks. I'll always admire Tim Burton for giving it a go with Sweeney (which I actually like *gasp*) and like wise Tom Hooper with Les Mis. The Disney connection is a little disconcerting but then, who knows what that really means in regards to the effect it will have on the actual material at this point. Such a wide sweep of roles should make for some interesting casting too. Of course it'll no doubt p**s people off like most of the Les Mis casting has. But you know, if you don't like the idea of it, don't go see it.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 9:23am

The casting is irrelevant. With Rob Marshall at the helm, this film will suck. And suck bad. Worse than NINE.

And with that, I will say no more. Enjoy the speculation and high hopes. I hope those hopes aren't dashed too terribly.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 9:36am

No reason to assume this will suck because Nine was a train wreck; no more than there was to assume Nine would be great because Chicago was great. And Chicago was a great film!

No reason to assume the musical numbers will be done "in your head" style as Into the Woods is a very different kind of show than the Brechtian vaudeville Chicago or movie of a musical based on a movie about a moviemaker making a movie that is Nine. HELLO?

Nor is there any reason to assume Into the Woods will be sanitized into unrecognizability by Disney, which from Snow White to Bambi to Fantasia to Wall-E to Pirates to Up has shown that it is not always there to sugarcoat.



Updated On: 1/11/12 at 09:36 AM

[Tom1071]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 10:25am

Let's just pray that Taylor Swift is kept far away from this...

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 10:27am

"No reason to assume the musical numbers will be done "in your head" style as Into the Woods is a very different kind of show..."

Except as I said before, Marshall has said he does not believe movie musicals work unless they are done that way and he is on record as saying any musical he does will be this way. THAT is why this news is so horrible to me and others.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 10:27am

Into the Woods is a fantasy about storybook characters. There will be no need or desire to have things "happen in your head." The suspension of disbelief already exists when you're talking about Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalk.

I'm interested in Rob Marshall's vision for the film. Initially, he met with Bruckheimer(!), and that, to me, means he's thinking large-scale effects. I would love to see this story told with CGI imaginings of the locations, the giant, giant's wife, etc. I love the idea of them popping out of illustrations in a storybook, too. With Disney on board, I could easily see it be a combination of live action and animation, too.

[broadway guy]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 10:33am

i think this could work. Rob Marshall did direct chicago which one BEST PICTURE at the oscars,so he obviously knows what he is doing. I didnt see NINE so i cant comment on that.But i dont think disney wud tone this movie down. The whole point of into the woods is that its not a fairy tale happy ending and im sure they know that.disney has been changing over the years and maybe this is a direction they want to go in? Disney has done some dark things

-ONCE is a really good example.
- hunchback of notredame was the darkest animated movie they have ever done.

- and in princess and the frog they killed a character. These arent the best examples but they r something to consider.

disney knows what it's doing and they RARELY make bad movies.

[finebydesign]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 10:45am

This is cool news,,,, a little late in the game though for a adult-live-action-fairy-tale musical me thinks. This should have been made last year.

I'm rather skeptical this will actually get made, if so I hope they can trim it down to be more like the Sweeney film which I enjoy. Marshall is awesome and people love working with him. I could not watch Nine at all. This show is really flexible so it will be cool to see who get's lined up. I dunno why all the hate, the show itself is far from perfect and this could be a lot of fun.

Someone mentioned "heavy source material," it seems really tame by today's Potter/Twighlight standards. I do hope the bet Bieber though, awesome!. Streep anyone?

[finebydesign]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 10:49am

Hopefully if this is a success maybe we will get our Beyonce/Gaga Aida.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 10:49am

Well, since Disney kind of "owns" the fairy tale at least in the genre of film, I think they're the perfect choice to take this material that turns everything on its ear and develop it. Rob Marshall has directed both the musical and action/CGI genres. I hope we'll get a blending of the two.

At least there won't be a necessity to have most of the action in Act II take place off-stage, the way it does in the play. That always bugged the hell out of me. You have a female giant running rampant around "storybookland," destroying everything, that you don't even see. You only hear about what she's doing. That can change now (thankfully).

Plus you have Jack, Cinderella, and to some extent Little Red Riding Hood, telling us what they learned AFTER their big adventures. Hopefully, we can see some of that now: Jack slaying the giant, Cinderella at the festival(s), etc.

There's a lot that can be adapted and even consolidated. It can be a leaner narrative with more action, and still tell the same wonderful story.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 10:50am

"The show itself is far from perfect"

Somehow deep in my reserves of magnanimity, I will find it in my power to forgive you. Someday.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 10:52am

"I'm rather skeptical this will actually get made, if so I hope they can trim it down to be more like the Sweeney film which I enjoy. Marshall is awesome and people love working with him. I could not watch Nine at all. This show is really flexible so it will be cool to see who get's lined up. I dunno why all the hate, the show itself is far from perfect and this could be a lot of fun."

Wow, there's a lot going on in there.

Ok, trimming a show down ala SWEENEY TODD is never a good idea. It serves no purpose whatsoever except to take music that you "think" won't work. With SWEENEY, a lot of the cut numbers could have been used if it had been written differently. It was a simple fix, same with NINE (shudder). Marshall being awesome and people loving to work with him has nothing to do with his competence as a director of musicals. I think he is a very fine director and greatly enjoy most of his films except he does not trust the genre to be what it is. He's almost an "anti-musical" musical director. He very well might see that this particular piece is already a fairy tale and therefore he can let go of his preconceived notion that audiences will not believe anyone who just breaks out into song. But none of that has anything to do with him being enjoyable t work with.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say the show is "flexible". It scares me, though. Then you say the show is "far from perfect" and I'd like you to back that up with your opinions on what exactly does not work within this show because honestly, it's one of Sondheim's most perfect shows and I don't think I've ever once heard someone say "Well it would work if..."

[rougeduck]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 11:03am

Amen to Beyonce/Gaga aida.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 11:04am

Sweeney Todd's adaptation was atrocious. There was a "blanket rule" to cut all choral singing which eliminated the driving narration done by the "Greek chorus." Stupid, stupid move that killed the film. It took the "legend" out of Sweeney Todd and made it a small story with very little resonance, zero perspective, and removed about half the score. Epic fail.

If you think Rob Marshall is bad, don't EVER give another musical to Tim Burton. He doesn't have a clue. Rob tried a technique that worked to great success in Chicago and failed, for the most part, in Nine (there are still some moments in that film I find breathtaking---in a good way). And, above all, the biggest problem with Nine wasn't that the numbers happened in his head (Guido imagines all sorts of things in the original 8 1/2, too), it was that Marshall forgot it was a COMEDY (so says Fellini), not a morose "midlife crisis" spiral into self-awareness.

Into the Woods is not about real people in real situations. There is no need for gimmicks to hide the songs. It's the one genre of film were people actually EXPECT characters to sing and are disappointed if they don't.

I think it needs a big starry cast and a big budget. It could be a hit for a wide audience, too. There's so much going on in the story. Humor, action-adventure, a little bit of horror (I hope they play more of that up in the creepy woods), fantasy, children's stories with adult messages ...

But up front, I'm really glad Tim Burton isn't involved on any level with this.

Updated On: 1/11/12 at 11:04 AM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 11:09am

Besty, while I agree with you - You can't forget that SWEENEY had Sondheim's blessing all the way through it. Visually it was fantastic thanks to Burton, but that's about it.

I'm going to say it again here - While you're absolutely right that since it's a fairy tale there's no need for gimmicks or to hide the songs what scares me is that MARSHALL DOES NOT TRUST THE GENRE OF THE MUSICAL. And because he does not trust it, I fear that even a story like this where (and it goes against what I believe to even write this) you would "need" to hide the singing, he will still do it because he believes that's how musicals on film need to work. I'm also afraid that he's sitting at home right now trying to pick out the nine songs from the show he'd like to use.

Posted: 1/11/12 at 11:12am

"And with that, I will say no more. Enjoy the speculation and high hopes. I hope those hopes aren't dashed too terribly."

Oh please. You LOVE dashed hopes. You look forward to them the way children do Christmas. Dashed hopes are the raisins in the rice pudding of your life.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 11:23am

"Besty, while I agree with you - You can't forget that SWEENEY had Sondheim's blessing all the way through it."

Jordy, I hate to say it, but that means absolutely nothing to me. Sondheim is not a film director, and film is not his medium. Hal Prince is a brilliant stage director, and look at what he did with Night Music. They're out of their element here.

I think Sondheim loves to collaborate, and he is also willing to try new things. He's open to ideas and exploration and he trusts other artists ... and that's great. But this one didn't work. AT ALL. And with film, you can't "change it in previews," at least not with something as huge as cutting all the choral singing.

If Sondheim is happy with that approach, fine. It doesn't change the fact that it ruined the movie for me, as an audience member.

By the way, I have given the Sweeney movie a shot several more times since its initial release. I actually liked it MORE initially. It only gets worse now with repeated viewings, not better. I can barely sit through it anymore because of how butchered it is (no pun intended). I've gone from "having trouble with it" to really "hating" how badly it was done.

Updated On: 1/11/12 at 11:23 AM

[Roscoe]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 11:24am

Gracious, JoeKv99. Such unabashed nastiness, and untrue, as it happens. I hope folks enjoy the Marshall horror when it comes out. It looks like there's plenty of support for it.

But since you decided to launch an entirely unprovoked personal attack on me, I'll change my attitude. I do hope that all of your hopes are dashed, in every way, for ever. Your dashed hopes will, forevermore, be the raisins in the rice pudding of my life.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 1/11/12 at 11:29am

"If Sondheim happy with (trimming the choral numbers from SWEENEY TODD), fine. It doesn't change the fact that it ruined the movie for me as an audience member."

Sorry it ruined the film so completely for you, I really am. It didn't change my enjoyment of the film, at all. I didn't miss the choral numbers, the ballad or God, That's Good. At all. The film worked for me as a leaner and meaner work. The lack of weed-whacker editing and the decision to have the songs happen in real time rather than fantasies were definite pluses.

"By the way, I have given the Sweeney movie a shot several more times since its initial release. I actually liked it MORE initially. It only gets worse now with repeated viewings, not better. I can barely sit through it anymore because of how butchered it is (no pun intended). I've gone from "having trouble with it" to really "hating" how badly it was done."

Well, different strokes, of course. I'll take Burton's stripped down version of SWEENEY TODD over Marshall's amped up and over-caffeinated CHICAGO and narcoleptic NINE any day, now and forever, amen.

Updated On: 1/11/12 at 11:29 AM