Universal's WICKED Films - News & Discussion Thread- Page 53

[HBP]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 6:53pm

The slight changes to the book/script previewed seem like a step in the right direction. 

I’m so excited for Cynthia’s performance, cautiously optimistic for Ariana’s, and the practical effects in the film look stunning.
 

This trailer did give me a few Oz the Great and Powerful CGI vibes, but I’m hopeful they were just going for the splashiest scenes for this audience. 

It’s the year of Wicked, folks. 

Updated On: 2/11/24 at 06:53 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 6:53pm

That was awesome

[Theatre Fan3]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 6:53pm

Interesting that the title was listed as simply "WICKED" ...  no mention of "Part 1" or any other subtitle.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 6:54pm

Any ideas on what the Dorothy scene is if this movie is ending on Defying Gravity? Though it looks like there could be some other scenes from act 2 in the trailer already so not sure what's going on there. It looks great though, I'm super excited 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 6:55pm

Wonder if they rushed the VFX to get this out for the Super Bowl?

That teaser looks extremely plastic with way too many production design elements generated by CG. First thing that came to mind was the 1990s Brandy/Whitney CINDERELLA. I'll be very skeptical of the film, visually speaking, until I see more.

[pmensky]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 6:56pm

Design wise it reminds me of the look of Oz the Great and Powerful. I didn’t expect it to look so clean and polished. 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 6:56pm

Theatre Fan3 said: "Interesting that the title was listed as simply "WICKED" ... no mention of "Part 1" or any other subtitle."

This could be similar to how the previous Dune film was advertised. Only includes 'Part One' in the official movie, but excluded from the marketing.

 

[blaxx]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 6:57pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Wonder if they rushed the VFX to get this out for the Super Bowl?

That teaser looks extremely plastic with way too many production design elements generated by CG. First thing that came to mind was the 1990s Brandy/Whitney CINDERELLA. I'll be very skeptical of the film, visually speaking, until I see more."

Oh please, sit down. That was a great teaser.

[Theatre Fan3]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 6:58pm

Theatre Fan3 said: "Interesting that the title was listed as simply "WICKED" ... no mention of "Part 1" or any other subtitle."

Now that I look at it closer it is listed as "Wicked - First Look" ... so is not really a teaser for "Part 1" but for the entire 2 film project.

[TBFL]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:00pm

https://x.com/LEGO_Group/status/1756829208079114305?s=20

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:00pm

Theatre Fan3 said: "Theatre Fan3 said: "Interesting that the title was listed as simply "WICKED" ... no mention of "Part 1" or any other subtitle."

Now that I look at it closer it is listed as "Wicked - First Look" ... so is not really a teaser for "Part 1" but for the entire 2 film project."

According to IMDB, the official titles are WICKED and WICKED: PART TWO (of course all is subject to change). I expect this is only a look at the first film, but who knows.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:01pm

ACL2006 said: "That was enjoyable. Wish it showcased more singing though."

I think studios are cautious about showing too much singing. Audiences are fickle about musicals and this has the real possibility of tanking at the box office. Musical theatre fans will know it’s a musical. They are trying to appeal to others. Lots of hot musical properties have underperformed at the box office. They have to sell this correctly. 

 

[ElephantLoveMedley]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:02pm

Wow, that was EXCELLENT. I cannot wait. 

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:02pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Wonder if they rushed the VFX to get this out for the Super Bowl?

That teaser looks extremely plastic with way too many production design elements generated by CG. First thing that came to mind was the 1990s Brandy/Whitney CINDERELLA. I'll be very skeptical of the film, visually speaking, until I see more."

That looked nothing like a TV movie from 1997.

[TBFL]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:06pm

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:06pm

Bettyboy72 said: "ACL2006 said: "That was enjoyable. Wish it showcased more singing though."

I think studios are cautious about showing too much singing. Audiences are fickle about musicals and this has the real possibility of tanking at the box office. Musical theatre fans will know it’s a musical. They are trying to appeal to others. Lots of hot musical properties have underperformed at the box office. They have to sell this correctly.

"
 

It’s so hard to predict; Wonka, a new musical based on a beloved property, has done very well at the box office, and Mean Girls made money, and then The Color Purple sort of plummeted after its successful first day. The box office is so odd lately; I can’t seem to find a lot of “trends” at the moment. 

As for Dune, it wasn’t advertised as Part 1 because a second film hadn’t been greenlit until it had some success at the box office. 

[Ke3]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:08pm

The whole "why are they hiding the singing" thing has become such a go to talking point and just like with TCP it just feels stupid here. Wicked is not some little show no one's ever heard of. Anyone who knows what it is, theatre fan or not, is aware there's singing. It's a minute long teaser that ends with a (really unpleasant) vocal moment. They weren't exactly going to bust out three minutes of Defying Gravity because that's not a tease.

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:12pm

That was amazing. I’m sure right after Defying Gravity they will bring up on the screen “Wicked Part 1” and to be continued….

[HBP]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:28pm

FWIW, I think the final Defying Gravity riff sounds amazing. 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:28pm

Interestingly enough, I’ve seen a couple people on Twitter mention that they were personally underwhelmed by the visuals. Kevin Jacobsen of Entertainment Weekly said "I wish it didn’t look like those Disney live-action remakes." Dan Bayer of Next Best Picture (who didn't like Janusz Kaminski's cinematography in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story) said "it looks about as ugly as I feared it was gonna look…"

Updated On: 2/11/24 at 07:28 PM

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:31pm

Interesting to see they’ve used the 1901 book’s Silver Slippers instead of the 1939 movie’s Ruby Slippers. Yet they’ve kept Dorothy and friends looking almost identical to the 1939 movie  

I wonder if it was a creative choice or a right issue?

[Det95]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:33pm

G(a)linda: you’re green

Elphie: *sounding surprised* I am?

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:36pm

Det95 said: "G(a)linda: you’re green

Elphie: *sounding surprised* I am?"

She doesn't say it like a question.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:37pm

Plannietink08 said: "Interesting to see they’ve used the 1901 book’s Silver Slippers instead of the 1939 movie’s Ruby Slippers. Yet they’ve kept Dorothy and friends looking almost identical to the 1939 movie
I wonder if it was a creative choice or a right issue?"

They don't have the rights to the 1939 film. Those rights are owned by Warner Bros (who acquired them from MGM at some point). This is, officially speaking, based only on the public domain Baum books.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-bros-wins-key-legal-208255/

Updated On: 2/11/24 at 07:37 PM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 7:42pm

Plannietink08 said: "Interesting to see they’ve used the 1901 book’s Silver Slippers instead of the 1939 movie’s Ruby Slippers. Yet they’ve kept Dorothy and friends looking almost identical to the 1939 movie

I wonder if it was a creative choice or a right issue?"

 

They're silver in the musical as well.