Universal's WICKED Films - News & Discussion Thread- Page 13

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 11/6/21 at 6:51pm

Sutton Ross said: "Bettyboy72 said: "Sutton Ross said: "That's true but we expect more now, especially from Mr. Chu who hired actual singers for In The Heights. I think this one will follow
Yes, he hired actual singers that were great but the movie tanked hard. I think that is why Hollywood doesn’t hire singers or Broadway talent. They don’t sell tickets. I think they hired two singers and may populate other roles with big names they can auto tune.


Sigh, that's depressing but true. I just didn't consider Cynthia a big name. I don't like her but she has incredible vocals, however everything she's done since TCP has been a failure (in terms of the box office numbers and ratings.

"

Wasn’t she in Harriet? Was that a flop? 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 11/6/21 at 7:12pm

Wasn’t she in Harriet? Was that a flop?

The film was favorably received and had modest success (grossing $43 million), it wasn’t a blockbuster hit nor catapulted a film career for Erivo, even though she was nominated for 2 Academy Awards: Best Actress and Best Song (she co-wrote it).  

[sabrelady]

Posted: 11/6/21 at 7:32pm

Harriet

Budget$17 million

Box office$43.3 million

Financially no, critically yes.( Guess which one counts.)

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/6/21 at 7:51pm

I guess Im asking the entire board: Do you all think Cynthia is a household name? 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 11/6/21 at 8:08pm

Sutton Ross said: "I guess Im asking the entire board: Do you all think Cynthia is a household name?"

Even though she has become more established within the past couple of years with her Oscar nominated turn as Harriet Tubman as well as her Emmy nominated performance as Aretha Franklin, I wouldn't call her a household name...yet. Maybe this movie could elevate her to superstardom like how the Broadway show did for Idina Menzel.

[James885]

Posted: 11/6/21 at 8:08pm

Sutton Ross said: "I guess Im asking the entire board: Do you all think Cynthia is a household name?"

To answer your question, no I don't think she's a household name, although she's certainly a more recognizable name now after having starred in a couple high-profile roles.

But I also don't think it matters; Wicked isn't a movie that's going to rely on household names - it's not a star vehicle. Much like Marvel, DC, Harry Potter, or Star Wars movies, the brand / franchise is the star and that's what going to puts butts in seats.

Updated On: 11/6/21 at 08:08 PM

[bopper2]

Posted: 11/6/21 at 8:27pm

I Think Derek Klena is the absolute perfect Fiyero for the film! Vocally and the look.

[BwayLB]

Posted: 11/6/21 at 8:39pm

jlindsey865 said: "jbroadway4 said: "For anyone nervous Ariana will use her pop voice for this, skip to 10:23: https://youtu.be/7_41-62igUM "

This was so interesting to hear! Re: Ariana, I think she is an incredibly talented vocalist who will rise to the occasion as far as singing the score goes. Still unsure about her acting.

She clearly loves and respects the material, so I am hoping she will put in the time to nail the role. She certainly as the potential."

And I am hoping the same for her!

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 11:32am

I’ve been watching MAID on Netflix and Raymond Ablack keeps sticking in my mind as Fiyero. He played Young Simba in The Lion King so he’s no stranger no musicals. 

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 12:56pm

sabrelady said: "Harriet

Budget$17 million

Box office$43.3 million

Financially no, critically yes.( Guess which one counts.)"

It’s not a blockbuster but it was certainly a mild success, making 2.5x it’s budget is not a flop, even factoring in advertising budgets. 

[SpiritualGangster]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 1:09pm

Even if “Harriet” had been a flop it has no bearing on the “Wicked” film. 

I’m on the fence regarding Erivo’s casting for reasons I will not go into here, but I am totally on board with Grande’s casting as “Glinda”. 

 

 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 2:03pm

Sutton Ross said: "I guess Im asking the entire board: Do you all think Cynthia is a household name?"

No!

[South Florida]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 2:50pm

Patti Lupone isn't a household name.

 

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 3:23pm

jbroadway4 said: "For anyone nervous Ariana will use her pop voice for this, skip to 10:23: https://youtu.be/7_41-62igUM 

Her version of "I'm Still Hurting" was pretty poppish, so that doesn't make me feel better.

[pmensky]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 5:46pm

South Florida said: "Patti Lupone isn't a household name.

In Florida? No, probably not.

[whatacharacter]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 9:27am

So should we assume Cynthia will not be leading the Color Purple film?

Also, my vote is for Lupone and Patinkin as Morrible and The Wizard.  They have proven time and time again to have incredible chemistry together.

Bowen Yang as Boq? Zendaya as Nessa?

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 11:22am

No to both ^^

pmensky said: "South Florida said: "Patti Lupone isn't a household name.

In Florida? No, probably not."

HAHAHAAAAAA. 

 

[Valentina3]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 12:14pm

whatacharacter said: "Also, my vote is for Lupone and Patinkin as Morrible and The Wizard. They have proven time and time again to have incredible chemistry together"

Now I really hope they have Morrible and Wizard take over As Long As You're Mine number instead.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 12:31pm

Valentina3 said: "whatacharacter said: "Also, my vote is for Lupone and Patinkin as Morrible and The Wizard. They have proven time and time again to have incredible chemistry together"

Now I really hope they have Morrible and Wizard take over As Long As You're Mine number instead."

HAHAHAHA. You just made my afternoon 

Updated On: 11/8/21 at 12:31 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 6:20pm

Sutton Ross said: "I guess Im asking the entire board: Do you all think Cynthia is a household name?"

By no stretch of the imagination is she a household name, talented or not.  The thing I fins interesting about was her age.  She is 34 and Elphaba is supposed to be a freshman in college.  After all the Ben Platt criticism, I am surprised that they went with someone so much older than the role.  Perhaps it wont make a difference if she acts the hell out of it.  

To digress, re Ben Platt, a close friend who used to attend the theatre vigilantly had never seen the show, and only watched the movie out of curiosity.  He absolutely loved it, and thought Platt was great...his enjoyment was not impacted an iota by Platt's age.  He even mentioned someone we knew in high school could have been the role model for EH, i.e., an outsider who was picked on by the bullies, who did just about everything he could do -- unsuccessfully, unfortunately -- to get a little acceptance.  But sorry for the digression.

[ElephantLoveMedley]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 6:53pm

Respectfully, the comments about how these characters are "supposed to" look like freshmen in college are getting exhausting. There are actresses who have played these roles on Broadway in their late 30s and even their early 40s, and somehow, I think audiences have still been able to understand the plot. Moreover, the ENTIRE second half of the show takes place sometime years into the future when these characters have become full-fledged adults. That is a full, entire act—not just some tiny epilogue scene or something! And finally, this is a story about the: (1) fictional witches; (2) of the fictional land of Oz; who (3) are from a fictional book written over a century ago. If you're not suspending your disbelief a little bit from the opening note of the overture, then I think you might need to see a different show.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 7:00pm

I’ve seen the Ben Platt example raised a few times in reference to the actresses’ age. I think the main reasons people aren’t as incensed by Cynthia and, to a lesser extent, Ariana playing younger are as followed:

A) Wicked is a fantasy and Oz is a fairytale land. If we can look past a green witch flying, we can look past her being somewhat older than what our understanding of college-aged is. Dear Evan Hansen, by contrast, is about as close to realism as a musical with non-diegetic songs gets.

B) Wicked is a story told across a span of time. You have to cast people who can play the second half of the story as well as the first. Unless you’re splitting the roles between younger and older performers, you’re gonna end up with actors who aren’t the literal ages of the characters for at least half of the piece no matter what you do.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 7:04pm

NOWaWarning said: "Wicked is a fantasy and Oz is a fairytale land. If we can look past a green witch flying, we can look past her being somewhat older than what our understanding of college-aged is.”

And this is exactly where Daddy swoops in and casts Ben as Boq.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 7:18pm

Jordan Levinson said: "And this is exactly where Daddy swoops in and casts Ben as Boq."

Lol, I would imagine Ben would want to lay low for a minute and give us time to forget the DEH debacle. But even if he did play Boq, he wouldn’t be bad casting and he’d fit in with this casting.

 

[lala3]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 8:49pm

Ariana Grande still looks like a teenager and does a great impression of Chenoweth( neither here or there)

Erivo does not look her age and will be covered in green makeup.

And like people have said it moves through time.

Erivo will knock it out of the park and Will quite frankly sing it better than Adele Dazeem.

 

Ariana has the vocal chops and has acted in a film and tv series.

Her character is not that complex. I’m sure she can pull it off

 

She’ll have to drop her affectations in her singing but I think she can.