Universal's WICKED Films - News & Discussion Thread- Page 24

[Globefan]

Posted: 6/25/22 at 12:59pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "Estimated at 85-90 minutes each."

I hope they release a single edit where both films are put into one. 

[B212323]

Posted: 6/27/22 at 12:24am

Re: Strahan/Ripa. Michael was poached for GMA by the head of ABC at the time. The ratings were hurting and they needed a 'ringer' for that post. The issue was they did not inform Kelly until the EP told the rest of crew one morning before the show. She had been a good ABC/Disney soldier (like going to the Midwest for meet and greets with affliate sales reps - usually not a job top network talent does) so she was furious they didn't tell her before the rest of the crew/staff. She felt incredibly slighted when she was a team player for all those years. Her agents told her to stay home while they negotiated a better deal with talent approvals in her contract. 

[Dark_Vader]

Posted: 6/27/22 at 7:32am

I wonder what elements from the book they will incorporate into the film. 

There is an interesting thread on reddit regarding the book. A lot of people did not like it and felt that the musical improved on the material. 

Wicked just isn't a good book

Updated On: 6/27/22 at 07:32 AM

[Globefan]

Posted: 6/28/22 at 1:39pm

https://variety.com/2022/music/news/wicked-songwriter-stephen-schwartz-on-why-movie-must-be-a-two-parter-nothing-can-follow-defying-gravity-1235305330/

Updated On: 6/28/22 at 01:39 PM

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/28/22 at 9:10pm

Globefan said: "https://variety.com/2022/music/news/wicked-songwriter-stephen-schwartz-on-why-movie-must-be-a-two-parter-nothing-can-follow-defying-gravity-1235305330/"

This is pure hyperbole, if the film version of Dreamgirls - which possessed one of the greatest Act I closers of all time (greater than Defying Gravity - I might add) could make it as a one parter, then the film version of Wicked can do so as well. It’s not that serious….

What a downright pretentious/self-important move…

“The audience can’t handle it! It demands to be broken into 2 parts after Defying Gravity!!!”

What a crock of cr@p

Updated On: 6/28/22 at 09:10 PM

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 6/29/22 at 12:21am

For real. I’d almost respect them if they just said, “The studio wanted to squeeze as much money out of this property as possible and laid down the law.” All of this BS about how it was a creative choice is a) insulting and b) makes them sound like incompetent storytellers.

[BwayLB]

Posted: 6/29/22 at 1:13am

I actually feel at ease with Part One ending with Defying Gravity. How it was going to transition to Thank Goodness in one single movie was one thing i had trouble picturing.

[chewy5000]

Posted: 6/29/22 at 1:19am

Bring back intermissions in long movies I say.

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 6/29/22 at 1:20am

Yeah… I don’t like the two parts thing. It’s a 2 and half hour musical 8x a week. You could easily trim that to around 2 hours and it would be great. 
 

as for Schwartz’s “nothing can follow Defying Gravity.” Incorrect. Intermission does every performance. Remember back in the day when a classic movie musical (or non musicals) would have an intermission pause for 2 minutes or so and play the entr’acte? Just for a break in the story and to prepare us for a new setup. Why did we let those go? 

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 6/29/22 at 10:03am

BwayLB said: "I actually feel at ease with Part One ending with Defying Gravity. How it was going to transition to Thank Goodness in one single movie was one thing i had trouble picturing."

I have a feeling Thank Goodness will be cut and replaced by an entirely new song. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/29/22 at 10:11am

Dark_Vader said: "I wonder what elements from the book they will incorporate into the film.

There is an interesting thread on reddit regarding the book. A lot of people did not like it and felt that the musical improved on the material.

Wicked just isn't a good book"

I'm of the opposite opinion. The book is one of my all time favorite novels. It's deep and dark and delves into a lot of things and themes that the musical either completely threw out or severely watered down in order to be more commercial and family friendly. I understand WHY they chose not to make the musical as dark as the book, but I found the structure, story, themes, and power of the novel far superior to the musical IMO. 

[ElephantLoveMedley]

Posted: 6/29/22 at 10:17am

Wasn't this supposed to begin production this month? Do we really still not have an inkling of an idea who has been cast in the other principal roles yet?

[BwayLB]

Posted: 6/29/22 at 10:24am

Plannietink08 said: "BwayLB said: "I actually feel at ease with Part One ending with Defying Gravity. How it was going to transition to Thank Goodness in one single movie was one thing i had trouble picturing."

I have a feeling Thank Goodness will be cut and replaced by an entirely new song."

I rather not rush into that conclusion

[betyourass]

Posted: 6/29/22 at 12:03pm

It just feels like too much WICKED for me. I'm good with a long movie - but 2 parts?! Think about DUNE recently...does that story REALLY need two movies? Nothing really even happened in the first movie! 

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 6/29/22 at 12:07pm

This is gonna bomb so bad lol

[Musical Master]

Posted: 6/29/22 at 12:08pm

I agree that movie intermissions for films over 2 1/2 hours long and more should be brought back. Even superhero movies like Avengers: Endgame and The Batman could've benefited from intermissions due to those movies hitting the 3-hour mark.

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 6/29/22 at 1:55pm

betyourass said: "It just feels like too much WICKED for me. I'm good with a long movie - but 2 parts?! Think about DUNE recently...does that story REALLY need two movies? Nothing really even happened in the first movie!"

DUNE 100% needs two movies at the very least. The David Lynch movie failed because everyone was squeezed into one movie and the plot made no sense. The 2000 SyFy miniseries was a roaring success because it was three 90 minute episodes which suited the complex story perfectly. 
 

Not sure what movie you were watching but lots happened in that first movie. And that was them cutting a lot out. 
 

DUNE is a bad comparison to make. 

Updated On: 6/29/22 at 01:55 PM

[Globefan]

Posted: 6/29/22 at 4:16pm

Schwartz said the structure of the film could be subject to change if it comes down to that. 

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 1:51pm

Globefan said: "Schwartz said the structure of the film could be subject to change if it comes down to that."

Right. Which implies that after 20 years of teasing this movie, they still don’t have any concrete plan. I’m not saying that’s the case, but it certainly makes them sound ridiculous.

[briankershawjr]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 2:31pm

Someone posted this on intergram 
 that production was way behind roles have not been filled besides Elphaba and Glinda

and production should had started already 

 

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 4:24pm

I thought somebody posted that principal filming is starting in early November.If that is the case, I doubt we hear about much of the supporting casting until October. Most films do not cast roles months in advance because of scheduling complications. Especially a two-part movie which I bet requires a very long time commitment from any actor who signs on for it.

[ATerrifyingAndImposingFigure]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 4:53pm

Following Defying Gravity should’ve even be that hard. Amongst others options, smash to black, write new instrumentals and show the passage of time leading into Thank Goodness.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 6:32pm

Being unable to find a way to translate that moment to the screen seems to me to smack of a resounding lack of adaptational creativity- and it’s hardly been a problem for any other number of musical to screen adaptations when dealing with act one finales. 
 

But frankly, the decision to make this into two films still boggles my mind. I doubt even the most devoted Wicked fan would argue that the show is without fat that can be trimmed. And when movie musicals have been struggling at the box office, Universal doubled down? Simply wild.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 6/30/22 at 6:45pm

This is what Stephen Schwartz told Observer not too long ago: "When we were adapting it, we kept trying to make it one movie, but we kept finding we were having to cut things that we didn't want to cut. There were some areas we wanted to delve into the movie that we weren't able to do, for various reasons, in the show. Also, to be honest, we found it difficult to get past 'Defying Gravity' without an intermission. We even discussed doing the film with an old-fashioned intermission, like Gone with the Wind and Lawrence of Arabia and movies back then. But ultimately, as we were working on it, it just came to seem we had material for two movies."

[Globefan]

Posted: 7/1/22 at 4:55pm

Jon Chu posted some pics of the studio on his IG story