The controversy over Gerard Butler's voice.- Page 6

[ggersten]

Posted: 10/18/19 at 4:57pm

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "Gerard, you realize you are joining a discussion that ended almost 15 years ago? Let it go."

Well, some credit for using the search function.  But, then, why on earth would you be searching for a thread about Gerard Butler and the film version of Phantom of the Opera?   I guess if you are new to the Board (and I-Man did just join), and you loved Phantom of the Opera film and you used the search function to find threads about the film.....

So, at least it's not yet another new thread about casting the Wicked film....

 

[Austen Farley]

Posted: 11/2/19 at 5:52am

Don’t forget the essence of the musical, the phantom doesn’t have any classical training, which makes sense as to why Gerald was a good choice for this part. His gruffness shows the despair that he’s had throughout his entire life and that reflects through his voice.

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 11/2/19 at 10:05am

Oi, this movie was such a disappointment. Two of the three stars could barely sing, most of the costumes looked cheap and tawdry, the unmasked phantom looked like an ugly bloke, rather than a hideous monster... the whole thing (except for, maybe, the overture) was a mess. Would someone please explain the costume change in Think of Me? It's an opera titled Hannibal, with Romanesque costumes, taking place in an ancient setting, then suddenly Christine is in a 18th century gown. Seriously? Why was that choice made?

I am so thankful that the 25th anniversary production was filmed. It may not be perfect, but it is a whole lot better than Schumacher's mess.

For the guy defending Butler's casting based on the fact that Webber gave him the OK, don't forget that Webber also hired Joel 'I Nearly Killed the Batman Film Franchise' Schumacher as the director, and Webber made that decision because he enjoyed a cheesey 1980s teen vampire flick that Schumacher directed two decades earlier; not because of his full body of work, mind you, but because of a 1980s cult classic. Also interesting of note, Schumacher is responsible for the screenplay, despite his craptastic screenplay for The Wiz.

Ultimately, it is unfair to blame the cast for the disappointment of the film. I place the blame on Schumacher's ineptitude as a director.

[AnnaMann2]

Posted: 2/29/20 at 5:52pm

I agree.  I never knew there was so much hate out there for Mr Butlers performance until just now.  I saw the film way back then and was wowed by it, especially the rawness of emotion he shows.  I watched it over and over again and I still have the DVD.  I hadn’t thought of it in years, for one thing I always wind up crying  through most of it.  I mean seriously who doesn’t want to swap places with Christine and make things all better for the phantom?  Anyway I saw a fake post about Mr Butler dying in a car wreck on the I5 in L.A. this past week and it made me want to go back and watch the movies of his that I love.  Thankfully he is alive and well.  Let me just say, I am no opera fan.  There are some songs from operas that I like but certainly NOT the kind of singing that the character of Carlotta performs.  I’d get up and walk out if I had to listen to that kind of screech in a show.  I have been to broadway to see performances so I’m not a complete novice to theater either and that is why I am confused by all the negative posts about the film.  Yes he is an amateur and it shows a little but good grief, give the man his due!  Anyway this is obviously an old argument and I just want to say that even after (what is it now, 16 years?) that his performance made me cry all over again and I already knew he wasn’t dead, lol.  Every bit as powerful as it was the first time I saw it.  And it doesn’t hurt that he’s so drop dead gorgeous either.  I think maybe there might be just a bit of jealousy coloring some of these comments too so if this is Mr Butler, honey, just let it roll off of your back  You made millions of women swoon and I for one would love to see you, Patrick and Emmy revisit those roles and do “Love never dies” with one exception.  Don’t kill off Christine.  : )

[thetoyman]

Posted: 7/8/21 at 5:50pm

Well, Butler gets praise more from fangirls because of his looks.  They let his looks cloud their judgement, or they're just ignorant of singing and the role.   To clarify, the Phantom was never actually trained as a musician.   Instead, it's the Hendrix effect.   Like Hendrix, he just watched others perform and copied what they were doing.   Crawford was amazing because he was highly trained, by the same person as Brightman, but he was told to sing it like someone who only observed professionals.   The breathy airy vocals people hate was intentional and defined the role.   Ramin, on the other hand, just put his all into it.  That's far more problematic when you're playing the role.  Ramin is an amazing singer, but he didn't portray a proper Phantom.   If you want a more rock-like voice, not really my favorite, there's Steve Harley.   Antonio Banderas sang this role better, creepier, and darker than Butler.  They should have hired Antonio to play this as the man had the looks and the singing voice for it backed by the acting.  He wasn't as trained as Crawford or Ramin, but he pulled it off so well.  The problem with Gerard is the singing, and the Phantom isn't supposed to sound like that.  Gerard is too improperly all over the place, and it shows that he, as in the Phantom, was not observing professionals.   That defeats the purpose of the role.  Crawford's approach was correct, but he wasn't even the first choice.  I believe Andrea Bocelli was how ALW wanted the role to sound at first, but due to scheduling conflicts, it didn't work out.  So, Brightman suggested Crawford who had acting experience and was trained by the same person as her.  Then ALW developed it around his voice.   As much as you might hate him he did win Tonys for his performance and voice because he properly portrayed, in every aspect, what the Phantom is supposed to be.  To be fair to Gerard, once more, Joel has pretty much destroyed franchises after The Lost Boys.  Just look what he did to Batman.  He's the guy who brought ya bat nipples.  I don't blame him for his bad singing because he did what he was told.  Actors don't have the freedom most people think they do.  They're pretty much the slaves of the writers, directors, and producers.  Also, ALW was probably paid to praise the man.  It happens all the time.  Hollywood producers pay big names to hype what they're paying to be produced.

 

Updated On: 7/8/21 at 05:50 PM

[<3Ragtime]

Posted: 7/8/21 at 9:00pm

Holy crap, this movie is still being discussed.

[thetoyman]

Posted: 7/9/21 at 4:32pm

said: "Holy crap, this movie is still being discussed."

Yup, I just find it amusing that people don't understand that Joel destroys franchises.  This thread has been going on near yearly since 2004.  There are comments from 2019 and 2020 even.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 7/9/21 at 4:44pm

thetoyman said: "said: "Holy crap, this movie is still being discussed."

Yup, I just find it amusing that people don't understand that Joel destroys franchises. This thread hasbeen going on near yearly since 2004. There are comments from 2019 and 2020 even."

Joel Schumacher died a year ago, so it's probably a good time to stop bashing him about this.

 

[Impeach2017]

Posted: 7/9/21 at 5:10pm

Maybe some franchises deserve to be destroyed.  

[joevitus]

Posted: 7/9/21 at 5:14pm

TaffyDavenport said: "thetoyman said: "said: "Holy crap, this movie is still being discussed."

Yup, I just find it amusing that people don't understand that Joel destroys franchises. This thread hasbeen going on near yearly since 2004. There are comments from 2019 and 2020 even."

Joel Schumacher died a year ago, so it's probably a good time to stop bashing him about this.

"

While I respect the whole respect for the dead thing, that Phantom was a crapfest movie, and that can largely be blamed on its director, doesn't stop being true because he's dead.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 7/9/21 at 5:22pm

joevitus said: "TaffyDavenport said: "thetoyman said: "said: "Holy crap, this movie is still being discussed."

Yup, I just find it amusing that people don't understand that Joel destroys franchises. This thread hasbeen going on near yearly since 2004. There are comments from 2019 and 2020 even."

Joel Schumacher died a year ago, so it's probably a good time to stop bashing him about this.

"

While I respect the whole respect for the dead thing, that Phantom was a crapfest movie, and that canlargely be blamed onits director, doesn't stopbeing true because he's dead."

I was mostly talking about bringing up Batman, which has nothing to do with Phantom, and which is the only franchise he ruined, even though Batman Forever made more money than Batman Returns. I don't think Phantom is considered a franchise, right? Also the fact that he referred to him as if he was still alive.

I never thought he was a great director, but saying that the only thing he did after Lost Boys was destroy multiple franchises is kinda not true.

Updated On: 7/9/21 at 05:22 PM

[thetoyman]

Posted: 7/10/21 at 5:37pm

TaffyDavenport said: "joevitus said: "TaffyDavenport said: "thetoyman said: "said: "Holy crap, this movie is still being discussed."

Yup, I just find it amusing that people don't understand that Joel destroys franchises. This thread hasbeen going on near yearly since 2004. There are comments from 2019 and 2020 even."

Joel Schumacher died a year ago, so it's probably a good time to stop bashing him about this.

"

While I respect the whole respect for the dead thing, that Phantom was a crapfest movie, and that canlargely be blamed onits director, doesn't stopbeing true because he's dead."

I was mostly talking about bringing up Batman, which has nothing to do with Phantom, and which is the only franchise he ruined, even though Batman Forever made more money than Batman Returns. I don't think Phantom is considered a franchise, right? Also the fact that he referred to him as if he was still alive.

I never thought he was a great director, but saying that the only thing he did after Lost Boys was destroy multiple franchises is kinda not true."

First off, Joel came out and apologized for what he did to Batman in 2017.  It's not bashing if the guy owned up to the fact that he ruined it.  The point is more that he's really not a great director nor writer, and you shouldn't have had high hopes going into a movie by the man post-Lost Boys.  No, I'm not just saying that because of what he did to Batman.  I'm talking about every movie he did since then.  It really doesn't matter if he's alive or dead, and saying to let it go because he's dead is just an easy way to deflect criticism.   Now, I am curious as to what you think of Antonio Banderas as the Phantom granted that he has sung the part, and he sang it far better than Gerard.  He's also a lot creepier as the Phantom with his facial expressions and the way he approaches Sarah Brightman.  His voice is pretty amazing for the role in my opinion in comparison.

[Musical Master]

Posted: 7/10/21 at 6:10pm

It's too bad the final product turned out to be such a boring, un-special dud. I swear if this movie was ripped away from ALW/Really Useful Group and given to a studio with a higher budget and better director, it could've been great. But nope, we can't have that because the universe doesn't want us to have nice things.

Also, wasn't Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway considered for The Phantom and Christine at one point? That could've been incredible casting if it weren't for their schedules.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 7/10/21 at 6:12pm

TaffyDavenport said: I was mostly talking about bringing up Batman, which has nothing to do with Phantom, and which is the only franchise he ruined, even though Batman Forever made more money than Batman Returns. I don't think Phantom is considered a franchise, right? Also the fact that he referred to him as if he was still alive.

He did what was asked to do. Turn Batman into a huge merchandise driven movie franchise. 

 

[thetoyman]

Posted: 7/10/21 at 7:44pm

Musical Master said: "It's too bad the final product turned out to be such a boring, un-special dud. I swear if this movie was ripped away from ALW/Really Useful Group and given to a studio with a higher budget and better director, it could've been great. But nope, we can't have that because the universe doesn't want us to have nice things.

Also, wasn't Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway considered for The Phantom and Christine at one point? That could've been incredible casting if it weren't for their schedules."

Ya, it conflicted with Van Hellsing's schedule.  Apparently they wanted John Travolta at first followed by Antonio due to Antonio's experience as the Phantom.  However, after producers did what producers do, they went for Jackman, and then eventually they ended up with Gerard.  Katie Holmes was the first choice for Christine, then it was Anne, but she dropped it as well due to scheduling conflicts.  I still think Antonio should have been the Phantom.  The man can sing the part, and he can be very creepy when he wants to be in a charming Raul Julia way.

Updated On: 7/10/21 at 07:44 PM