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Say "Sweeney Todd" hits it big at the box office....

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#1

Say "Sweeney Todd" hits it big at the box office....

Posted: 11/2/07 at 10:11am

...what could be next, if suddenly movie-goers get "into" Sondheim?

A Little Night Music, starring Emma Thompson (Desiree) and Gary Oldman (Frederik). With Cate Blanchett and Hugh Jackman as Charlotte and Carl-Magnum... and Judi Dench as Madame Armfeldt?

Sunday in the Park With George - with Ewan McGregor and Rene Zellweger?
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#5

re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....

Posted: 11/2/07 at 10:21am

Just my Friday fantasy here.

But reading the Harry Knowles movie review (on another thread) today, he wasn't at all familiar with the stage show... and yet he seemed very into the lyrics and the songs.

Maybe other film-goers will wake up while watching this movie and say, "Hey, who wrote this sh*t? It's brilliant!"

...And our little Stevie Sondheim will be "discovered" by American movie audiences, at the tender age of 75.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#7

re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....

Posted: 11/2/07 at 10:32am

You mean Condon?

Betty Comden isn't making movies anymore.

re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....

How about Into the Woods, filled with stars and cameos:


The Witch - Catherine Zeta-Jones
Baker's Wife - Cate Blanchett
Baker - Paul Giamatti
Cinderella - Ann Hathaway
The Two Princes - Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenthaal (also as the wolf)!
Red Riding Hood's Grandmother - Angela Lansbury
Cinderella's Stepmother - Meryl Streep
The Narrator/Mysterious Man - Jack Nicholson
Jack - Zac Efron
Jack's Mother - Bette Midler

...just fill it up with stars!
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#11

re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....

Posted: 11/2/07 at 10:49am

I don't see Follies working on film, period.

The only way it would stand a chance is if it were a backstage story. The life imitating art imitating life cycle of events would play well on screen.

Otherwise, forget it. It's a maudlin, self-absorbed, dated, esoteric period-piece.

Four people would go to see it, and I'm afraid I wouldn't even be one of them.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#12

re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....

Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:02am

I agree that it probably wouldn't be successful on film, but I don't agree that turning it into the backstage story would do it any favors. If it's a musical no one would see, who is going to go see the backstage story - particularly when there's really not enough filmable drama to go around?
#13

re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....

Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:06am

Best left on stage then.

I would love to see a film of Merrily We Roll Along, too, but I don't think that would work either.

It could work BETTER on film than it does on stage, but I still don't see it "clicking."

...and I would skip past Pacific Overtures too. Unless they do one of those "starts on a stage and then turns into real life" things that NEVER works in a movie.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#15

re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....

Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:10am

Can you imagine if the "Into the Woods" reading of 13 years ago had ever transformed into a film? Here was the cast, if you don't recall:

Baker: Robin Williams
Baker's Wife: Goldie Hawn
Witch: Cher
Wolf: Steve Martin
Giant: Danny DeVito
Jack: Elijah Wood
Jack's mother: Roseanne
Cinderella's stepmother: Bebe Neuwirth
Red Riding Hood: Mayim Bialik
Rapunzel: Samantha Mathis
Rapunzel's Prince: Brendan Fraser
Cinderella: Moira Kelly
Cinderella's prince: Kyle MacLachlan
Cinderella's father: Michael Jeter

And I guess Penny Marshall was going to direct, since the reading was at her house?
#16

re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....

Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:13am

The problem with Into the Woods, is that everyone thinks it would be a hugely expensive movie to make.

It doesn't have to be Lord of the Rings, with crazy-elaborate special effects. It just has to be good.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#17

re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....

Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:13am

My God.
Butters, go buy World of Warcraft, install it on your computer, and join the online sensation before we all murder you. --Cartman: South Park ATTENTION FANS: I will be played by James Barbour in the upcoming musical, "BroadwayWorld: The Musical."
#18

re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....

Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:20am

I think Merrily could work if he was involved in re-structuring it so it didn't run backwards in time. But that would probably kill his whole concept wouldn't it. Never mind.

(But it is his most accessible score IMHO)
....but the world goes 'round
#19

re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....

Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:26am

Yeah, running the story forward would kill any poignancy and make for a very difficult evening. Both Folies and Merrily are two of the hardest Sondheim shows to crack, so to speak. They have their devoted fans (and I love both), but even theatre folks don't usually find those shows very inviting. As Tazber pointed out, the Merrily score is pretty accessible, but the story around it (and the way it's told) wigs people out. It's a similar situation with Follies.
#25

re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....

Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:45am

and call me too! Hell I will bring the donuts every day! lol
"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."

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