Sondheim Talks FOLLIES Movie Musical- Page 9

[Miranda3]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 10:24am

Somebody drag Barbara Harris out of the desert (heard she is teaching in Arizona) for her long-overdue film comeback, as Carlotta.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 10:26am

Harris or her Nashville co-star Karen Black would be the perfect Carlotta.

[Miranda3]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 10:31am

Or Cleo Laine. Have heard her (on stage) drop the accent quite convincingly once in a while when required. "I'm Still Here" is on her Sondheim CD, with accent, tho. She is in her 80s now but still performing.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 11:30am

Carlotta is supposed to be about 50.

[Miranda3]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 11:33am

You are right, Phyllis. My Cleo-love erased the 30+ years! I still think Barbara Harris could carry it off, though.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 7:29pm

La Swit as Carlotta.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 7:41pm

Per the google search I just did, Barbara Harris is either 75 or 78. She might could play Hattie.

[Miranda3]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 10:58pm

Whomever Barbara Harris plays, just get her to the stage!

[charlesjguiteau]

Posted: 8/26/11 at 11:01pm

Hate to say it, but there's another Barb(a)ra who would actually be exactly the right movie star to play Carlotta... Paging Miss Streisand...

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 8:17am

"supposed to be"? what does that mean? does that mean "originally played by a 50 year old"? does it mean "stage direction says 50ish"?

Either way it's something that has nothing to do with the story.

There isn't any reason Carlotta can't be 50. But there isn't any reason she can't be much older.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 2:09pm

Well, didn't Carlotta use to be part of the show with Sally and Phyllis? She's supposed to be closer to them in age than she is to Hattie's age, for example. She's also has a history with Ben and there's all the flirting she does throughout the show. I don't think a 70 year old should be playing this role. I think the only reason people want to see 80 year olds playing Carlotta is because she sings a song titled "I'm Still Here," but as I've said in other threads, there's a lot more to the role than the song. I don't want to see Angela Lansbury, Barbara Harris, etc as Carlotta. If I was casting the movie (my dream job), I'd be looking at people like Barbara Hershey, Sharon Stone, and Carrie Fisher and even they are a bit older.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 2:14pm

As scripted, Carlotta was a peer of Phyllis and Sally's in the Follies. Per the script, Phyllis and Sally are 49, so yes, Carlotta is supposed to be around 50.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 2:15pm

Barbara Hershey? Sharon Stone?! Carrie Fisher?!!

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 2:19pm

For some reason (as ray notes), people seem to think that the actress playing Carlotta should have really "lived that life," whatever that means. People seem to want to project their performer's life on to the song (and by extension, the character), but most, if not all, suggestions are generally projecting something that isn't there. Sure, Liza (I just pulled her name, but it could be any number of suggestions for the role over the years and threads) is "still here," but virtually none of the rest of the song really makes you think, "wow, that's her life!"

[Kad]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 2:23pm

If Aaron Sorkin were really attached to this as writer, don't you think there'd have been an official announcement?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 2:24pm

He's been attached as a writer for years. I believe that there actually was some mention of it when this thread originally started, but that was a couple of years ago.

ETA - Yeah, it was 2007 when his name was mentioned. I haven't really heard anything since.
Older thread Updated On: 8/27/11 at 02:24 PM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 2:33pm

CarlosAlberto, I was just pulling names out of my ass :-P Just wanted to make the point that there are actresses who aren't pushing 80 who can make the number, and more importantly, the role believable.
Phyllis, Liza is one of those names that is *always* thrown around for the role that simply baffles me. When someone suggests Liza Minnelli (or for that matter, Barbara Harris) for the role, I wonder if they have actually seen the show or read the script, she's wrong for the part in every way possible. I mean, weren't people actually suggesting Elaine Stritch for Carlotta for the most recent revival?
And yes, Aaron Sorkin has supposedly been working on the screenplay for years now. Let's face it though, this movie is never going to happen unless a few of us win the lottery and put our funds together. We'll see what happens with LES MISERABLES, but after the massive failure of NINE and BURLESQUE, I can't imagine FOLLIES of all shows getting green-lit by any studio and it will most certainly have to be made by a studio given the cost.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 2:41pm

Sure, some productions take Carlotta out of the mirror number, but it still doesn't change the fact that - per the script - Ben was supposed to have slept with her 30 years ago when they were all in the Follies together. When she's considerably older, it seems out of character for him. Not to mention that many of the things Carlotta is singing about in "I'm Still Here" happen (if the Carlotta is a much older actress) when she was in her 40s and 50s. Look at that perimenopausal gal running around with the dailies in her shoes, dancing in her scanties!

I always thought Aaron Sorkin was on odd choice for the screenplay anyway. The book is always criticized for being problematic, too talky and filled with characters who don't talk the way people do in real life. And the person to rectify that is ... Aaron Sorkin?

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 2:44pm

I don't see FOLLIES working as a film, it's too theatrical, too conceptual. It's ingrained as a theater piece and really no one outside of those of us who have an invested interest in musical theater even knows what FOLLIES is.

No studio will give this a chance as a film without throwing in some heavy duty box office names to even justify green lighting it.

And then there's the question, "Does every Broadway musical have to be turned into a film?". My personal answer is "No." Some pieces belong to the theater and should really just stay that way.

I'm all for a filmed stage presentation of the piece, but a theatrical film? Not so much.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 4:14pm

I think Sharon Stone would be a brilliant Carlotta.

[ComingUpRoses2]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 4:16pm

It IS waaayyyy to stage bound a piece to work on film. The only way I can see it working is if it takes place in an old MGM musical soundstage about to be torn down. The main story and all the songs/characters could easily still work, but they'd just need a little fine tuning.

Can you imagine the Loveland sequence like something out of a grand old MGM musical? It would be gorgeous!

Also, why is the idea of Carrie Fisher as Carlotta eating away at me. Am I the only one who could actually see that working? Last time I checked, she still had a pretty good voice and was quite beautiful back in the day. Her sense of humor would be perfect for the role, too.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 4:20pm

There's a screenplay out there from 70s that did change the setting to a movie studio. I just think it becomes something very different if it's suddenly about the movies.

[ComingUpRoses2]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 4:27pm

I remember hearing about that a few years back. The concept fascinated me and I think it's a step in the right direction. It would be very different, but I see it being so stagey if it was extremely faithful to the original. I'd rather see something interesting done with the material than a static Producers-esque disaster.

It would be a good way to re-work the script, which, let's face it, needs lots of work to keep film audiences interested. Still, I feel most of the songs would work just as well as they do on stage. I think the Loveland sequence would work even better on film than on stage.

I really like the idea of the theatre/soundstage being haunted and the ghosts sort of lingering around in black and white, only coming into color during the musical numbers. "Who's That Woman" could use this to great effect.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 5:12pm

I would love to see Annett Benning play Carlotta.

[ComingUpRoses2]

Posted: 8/27/11 at 5:15pm

I adore Annette Bening. That's the great thing about these roles. There are so many great actresses around this age range who could knock them out of the park.