Streep's new song reportedly cut from final film

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/194515-New-Stephen-Sondheim-Song-Penned-for-Meryl-Streep-Cut-From-Final-Version-of-Into-the-Woods-Film

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^ I was about to say the same thing, dreaming.

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there goes Sondheims chance at a second Oscar.

I've had it right up to here with director's cuts and special editions and bonus footage.

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Maybe they decided to add Rapunzel's death during the re-shoots last month. The new song being cut is disappointing, but hopefully it will play during the credits.

Showface- I believe the Academy changed the rules on that. The song has to be used in the film as part of a scene.

@Lalaland

Oh, I did not know that, I was just going by what BWW posted, (but we all no they are inaccurate a lot of times)

skylight2, what did you not like about her performance in Doubt? I am genuinely interested, so please give specifics.

I think it's safe to say the song was cut for storytelling or time reasons, and not Meryl's performance. Some here may not like her singing voice, but they wouldn't have cast her in the first place. Marshall and Sondheim did.

We already know "act 2" was considerably rewritten for the film, as it should be and as most musicals are. I imagine this was cut for the same reason we no "No More" was cut: to keep the story going.

LALALand & Showface & Phyllis Rogers Stone, an end credits song can be eligible, as long as it's the first music cue when the closing credits begin (i.e. the first song that plays once the screen fades to black).

Two years ago, there was a minor outcry when Madonna's "Masterpiece" for the film W./E. was deemed ineligible, but "Masterpiece" (although an original song written specifically for the film) isn't featured in the context of the film itself and also happens to be the second song featured during the movie's closing crawl. The first being a continuation of composer Abel Korzeniowski's score.

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Updated On: 8/14/14 at 11:09 AM

Wait. Is "Rainbows" still in? And if so, will it be deemed "new," since it was written 20 years ago?

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From the Academy's website:

To be eligible, a song must consist of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the film. A clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition of both lyric and melody must be used in the body of the film or as the first music cue in the end credits.

http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2013/20131216.html

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I'm actually not surprised and/or kinda glad to hear this.

When I read the leaked script, the Witch already sings the first part of the Lament. They cut the second part to segue into the new song, and when I was reading it, my first thought was "that's an awful lot of singing about someone who just left with nothing else happening." And all it said was "new song for the witch," or something like that.

I'm hoping they either put Rapunzel's death back in (but then would they also add back the dialogue when the Witch rants about it in front of the others?).

Or I'm hoping you can get enough of the witch's loss from the part she initially sings along with Meryl's acting.

In either case, it would certainly pick up the pace for that section of the story.

I'm also not a fan of the added song in Les Mis. It adds nothing from the story that you can't get by watching the actors on screen. It "indicates" way too much. You can see everything in their faces.

("We had faces then ... we didn't need dialogue.")

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