Songs of Spiderman Book

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Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/5/13 at 5:45pm

For some reason it still says pre-order when I go into the kindle store so I am starting the FOSSE book.

Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/5/13 at 6:35pm

Loving it so far.

"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/5/13 at 7:07pm

Sorry to threadjack for a moment, but can you give any more info on the Carrie book? Have heard nothing about it. Did it just come out?

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/5/13 at 8:45pm

Never mind. Found it on Amazon. Published at the end of October by Applause Theatre Books. Doesnt sound too detailed. Amazon says it is only like 208 pages long.

Just finished it this morning.

What a fantastic storyteller.

Great that there be a written account, as well as the unreleased documentary, to chronical the process.

Something I find fascinating is how Julie Taymor tried to have the original piece preserved on film. Unless I am uninformed to any, there are no captures that correctly preserve "1.0" right? The documentary must have an abundance of footage however...

Berger also stated how members of the team frequented the boards and the blogs, including himself. I remember this site had quite the hefty thread. After completing the book I looked at it once more. Scrolling through some of the pages, that I too were apart of, I was reminded of the callousness leading to and past the first preview. I still cannot understand the ill passion most had against the damn play. Typically, we honor progress, but most on this site just wanted the thing dead. Beaten dead bruised and broken. Before Spider-Man most posters were shunned by the community when giving "reviews" during previews. that changed. The level of respect was dismal. scathing personal attacks led the arguments, as if any of us actually knew what those six plus years truly entailed.

I just do hope all involved with the project were able to unwind with their families, pets, friends, whathaveyou before beginning their next works.

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/6/13 at 12:28pm

"I still cannot understand the ill passion most had against the damn play."

Maybe because the whole thing smacked of the most cynical "creative" energies. It seemed like the kind of musical that was thought up in a pitch meeting of executives as opposed to genuine inspiration and love of the musical form.

BTW, I don't think creatives should be taking their notes from this or any other board.

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” ~ Muhammad Ali

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/6/13 at 12:36pm

Ahh yes I forgot it was okay to act so fiercely on assumptions.

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/6/13 at 2:02pm

>>Maybe because the whole thing smacked of the most cynical "creative" energies. It seemed like the kind of musical that was thought up in a pitch meeting of executives as opposed to genuine inspiration and love of the musical form. <<

Taymor's vision seemed far from being cynical or just a pitch meeting with no inspiration. Apparently, she changed many aspects of the Spider-Man story and took lots of risks - she got people to believe in her vision to the tune of millions of dollars more than had ever been spent before. None of that was "safe".

The budget drove the story - and then the actual show didn't work for many people - including the creative talent. It could have been different. James Cameron movies usually have tons of criticisms over budget - but then once many people saw Titanic or Avatar, that criticism dissipated. I guess Spider-Man could have been a contender - instead of a bum.

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/6/13 at 7:15pm

I am dying to read THE DISASTER ARTIST! Now that is something I would love to see made as a musical!

#10

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/6/13 at 7:29pm

Curious to see if Berger gets any of his plays produced in NYC.

#11

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/7/13 at 1:21pm

""Doesnt sound too detailed. Amazon says it is only like 208 pages long ""

I was flipping thru it in the bookstore, its well over 350 pages

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Updated On: 11/7/13 at 01:21 PM

#12

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/7/13 at 1:52pm

Amazon does occasionally make errors like this. I would get it but I have so much unread stuff on my kindle no reason to rush to get it now.

Poster Emeritus

#13

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/7/13 at 1:59pm

I'm almost done with it. I don't want it to end. What a story. The tiny bit of respect I had mustered up for Julie Taymor has been shot by reading this.
SPOILER
The part where it described how she went into America Olivo's dressing room after she had a rough preview performance and unleashed her wrath on the poor understudy to the extent of wall shaking screams... Wow.

"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "

#14

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/7/13 at 3:18pm

Kind of reminds me of Heaven's Gate Director Michael Cimino

After he did The Deer Hunter, he was Hollywood's Golden Boy. They gave him the combination to the bank vault and said enjoy. He made Heaven's Gate and destroyed both his career and an entire studio United Artists in the process.

She did Lion King and the suits thought she could do no wrong. Suits were wrong again

Poster Emeritus

#15

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/14/13 at 1:47pm

I love Riedels rave of the book...

“An entertaining tell-all about this infamous musical that, in the fall of 2010, made headlines almost every day….an accurate and candid account.” (Michael Riedel NY Post)

since in it he is described this way....

“ Riedel is a parasite-carrying blood-sucking mosquito depositing the larvae of an elephantiasis-causing filarial worm under the skin of our show.”

well according to him its very accurate and candid right? lmao

Updated On: 11/14/13 at 01:47 PM

#16

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/14/13 at 2:45pm

Oddly enough, I think Spider-Man is far superior to Lion King in every aspect. I was throughout entertained at Spider-Man. I was bored out of my mind at Lion King. I've never been a Taymor fan, but some of the stage pictures she created with Spider-Man are truly out of this world.

"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "

#17

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/14/13 at 3:45pm

you know, i felt the same way about LionKing. except for the animal parade i wasnt that crazy about it. Spiderman on the other hand was dazzling. both versions.

#18

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/15/13 at 11:22pm

Reading the book made me want to see the show again. Learning what was kept, what was removed and why made this a fascinating read for anyone involved in the creative process.

#19

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/28/13 at 6:44am

Tone of videos: just seen Patrick page reading from the book from turn off the darks youtube channel & found it hard to pick up on the tone of it, does he think it's rubbish? I don't get why the official channel have made the videos, is the book being sold at the theatre? Have ordered my copy so should be here soon! Loved the show too

#20

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 11/28/13 at 9:13am

I finished this on Tuesday, eight days after having purchased it. For those who followed the saga of this show, the overall broad strokes were known already, but there was some added detail in the book. I too was surprised to read the part about how Julie wanted 1.0 filmed for preservation; I had never read that detail before. I'm guessing that at least one motivation for this was to support legal action later. In general, though, I don't think Berger's telling "his side of the story" makes him look very good at all. If this guy operated in the Corporate world like this ... well, let's just leave it at that.

#21

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 7/21/14 at 11:10pm

I know I'm super late to the party, but I just finished this book today and found it a fascinating read. What really struck me was how both Taymor and Berger seemed to deliberately ignore concerns about the potential story problems before the show went into rehearsals. That to me is just mind boggling.

I really wish I had seen version 1.0.

"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

#22

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 7/22/14 at 6:52am

Version 1 was fun. But a total storytelling nightmare. Version 2.0 was a better story and made more sense. But that leg number in version 1 was just total camp.

#23

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 7/22/14 at 2:29pm

While the book was a great way to see inside one of the most talked about Broadway shows in history, my issure that the book seems to be Berger's way of cashing in on something that he just happened to be apart of, and making it some sort of a vanity piece. Saying he always knew the show was a disaster, makes me say, then leave. I understand a pay cheque is a pay cheque, but still. I also couldn't watch him on Theatre Talk dicussing the book, acting like he knew everything was wrong from day one, and kept trying to get people to listen, and now this is his way of saying, "I told you so".

#24

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 7/22/14 at 3:39pm

I'm not sure anyone who writes a book on a behind the scenes of a Broadway show is cashing in, as the interested audience would probably be very small...

Unless someone was silly enough to give him a huge advance. He certainly won't cash in based on sales.

Updated On: 7/22/14 at 03:39 PM

#25

Songs of Spiderman Book

Posted: 7/22/14 at 6:04pm

I loved this book and thought it would make a great movie (more $ for writer) but then I realized Marvel would never let them use the Trademarks/Copyrights, so that's that.

"Observe how bravely I conceal this dreadful dreadful shame I feel."

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