Say "Sweeney Todd" hits it big at the box office....
Say "Sweeney Todd" hits it big at the box office....
#1Say "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?
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
mauriposa
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/14/05
#2re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 10:15am
Sunday in the Park With George - with Ewan McGregor and Rene Zellweger?
Is it bad that I would totally see that?
#2re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 10:16am
I could too...but I'd rather see Nicole Kidman (Ducking for cover here).
--http://www.benjaminadgate.com/
#3re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 10:19amget the director of Pan's Labrynth to do "Into the Woods"!!!!!!!!
#4re: 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.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#5re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 10:22amComden could have his cute little Hollywood-concept "Follies."
--http://www.benjaminadgate.com/
#6re: 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.
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!
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#7re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 10:35amIf Follies is filmed and based on the Chapin book instead of the musical itself blood will be shed. Just sayin'.
#8re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 10:44amEfron's too hot. You'd want someone attractive obviously, but attractive in more of the adorable/endearing sense.
--http://www.benjaminadgate.com/
mauriposa
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/14/05
#9re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 10:44am
You had me until Zac Efron.
Edit: Ha, B3TA. You beat me to it.
Updated On: 11/2/07 at 10:44 AM
#10re: 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.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#11re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:02amI 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?
#12re: 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.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#13re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:08am
Yeah, I could see Merrily "working" on film, I just don't know that there's much of an audience for it.
#14re: 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?
#15re: 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.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
Mattbrain
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/23/05
#16re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:13amMy God.
#17re: 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)
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#18re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:26amYeah, 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.
#19re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:29am
Bring in David Lynch and see what he can do.
Now I sound like Cruel_Sandwich! 
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#20re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:32amFor which? Follies or Merrily? He should do Assassins.
#21re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:35amI was thinking Merrily, but Assassins is a much better choice. And it would give the Rush Limbaughs of the world a fit.
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#22re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:38amI'm the only person who can bring Follies to the screen. And after I win the lottery, I will.
#23re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:40amCall me if you need a production assistant.
#24re: Say 'Sweeney Todd' hits it big at the box office....
Posted: 11/2/07 at 11:45amand call me too! Hell I will bring the donuts every day! lol
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