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

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).  

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

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

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!

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. 

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

No!

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.