Universal's WICKED Films - News & Discussion Thread- Page 94

[Alexander_Nevermind]

Posted: 11/25/24 at 11:39pm

sherie_worshipper said: "Alexander_Nevermind said: "sherie_worshipper said: "Jeffrey Karasarides said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "The movie languished with Stephen Daldry signed on as director for years. Many release dates were announced and they came and went. Once Daldry left and Jon Chu came on, it was fast tracked. I got the impression that Universal and Marc Platt weren't in much of a hurry while the stage production was doing so well and everyone profiting from it. Universal's LES MIS had an even longer time between its stage premiere and film, and that film did quite well (WICKED will do better)."

When Winnie Holzman was interviewed by Julie James for SiriusXM On Broadway last year, she mentioned how they all knew fans wanted a movie, but none of the creatives were interested for a while. It wasn’t until about nearly a decade into the Broadway run when talks finally began. She also said that Stephen Daldry was their personal choice to direct, but after having been attached for several years, they all realized that he wasn't the right choice. As Stephen Schwartz is friends with Lin-Manuel Miranda, he got in touch with him in 2020 asking what it was like working with Jon M. Chu on In the Heights. Lin responded with “He's a good guy, he’s insanely collaborative, he loves musicals, and he dreams BIG.” Then heasked “Wait is this for Pippin or Wicked or what?” Schwartz then said “Thanks Lin, that’s very helpful.”

Cut to February 2nd, 2021, it was announced that Jon M. Chu took over as director. Lin texted Schwartz with "CHU for Wicked! How great!" He responded with "Well, you had something to do with that. Your recommendation, particularly as to how collaborative you found him to be, was influential. Also very positive things that Alex Lacamoire had to say. Also, I loved the In the Heights movie!"
https://www.instagram.com/p/DCm5qUkTYeS/?img_index=1"

The truth is that Schwartz had chosen Chu way before that.He was just asking his opinion, but of course LMM had to insert himself in the narrative to make it looklike he’s responsible for the movie.

Schwartz had known Chu for years and was greatly impressed by Crazy Rich Asians, especially by how he had made Singapore look beautiful on screen - just howhe wanted Oz to look like (Daldrey’s take on Oz was supposed to be very dark - almost WW2-like).

It was also Schwartz who chose Michelle Yeoh, by the way. It was all due to CRA, not ITH. That’s why Schwartz said “you had SOMETHINGto do with that.” He always checks with his friends before he picks a collaborator, but the decision is always 100% his. Believe me, he texted a lot of friends before choosing Chu, but only one decided to make that public."

We get it. You don’t like Lin Manuel Miranda. You may go now. - - - - - >"


I don’t mind him. I was just pointing out that he likes to force himself into situations that are not about him. And I was correcting Jeffrey’s narrative of how Jon M. Chu became the director of Wicked. Do you know any of these people in person? I do. And I’m staying. Have a nice life."

Why thank you! How kind! 

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 11/25/24 at 11:41pm

Bettyboy72 said: "Also I’m a little unsure why Bowen Yang was in the ensemble. Yes I know he was featured a bit but still mostly ensemble. He pulled focus for me because he’s such a campy ham. Maybe that’s what they wanted. I didn’t care for it."

Bowen Yang was already friends with Jon Chu, so when Chu got the directing gig, Bowen said he really wanted to be in and would play any part. I thought he was good in the part, but the short answer is Bowen is in it because he asked.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 12:12am

A tidbit:

you’ll notice in the credits that Marc Platt and David Stone are both the credited producers (as they are on the stage show), BUT Platt is the only one with a PGA credit. (There are often several PGA-credited producers and it’s determined by the person’s level of work on the film at all stages of production.) So if this gets awards nominations/wins, Platt will technically be the only Best Picture award nominee.

(there are a number of people with executive producer credits, including the authors; those are honorary titles and don’t qualify for awards.)

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 12:19am

MagicalMusical said: "I do want to take a minute - is this musical really saying Animals being blamed for a draught and food shortage makes sense? What did Animals do, drink and eat too much?! And flying monkeys would be goodspies?! No one's gonna notice a flying monkey near them?!And if they are way up in the air, the monkeys can see and hear clearly what people and Animals are doing and saying?! I think that's the only problem I have with the material."

Nothing about the animal storylines makes any sense. I also didn't understand how the animals were losing the ability to speak. I get being silenced as a metaphor, but they were supposed to literally be losing the ability to speak and team Wizard is not actually good at magic. 

Also, portraying Doctor Dillamond as a literal goat was frustrating in context of Peter Dinklage voicing the role. I get not wanting to cast people with dwarfism as Munchkins. However, I don't see how hiding actors with dwarfism in voice over roles is better representation.      

I'd rather Dinklage have played the Wizard. Jeff Goldblum did a great job, but he basically already played the same part in Thor: Ragnarok. 

[Magnificent Donkey]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 2:52am

Jonathan Cohen said: "Nothing about the animal storylines makes any sense. I also didn't understand how the animals were losing the ability to speak. I get being silenced as a metaphor, but they were supposed to literally be losing the ability to speak and team Wizard is not actually good at magic."

That's a good point, I've been thinking about it as well.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 6:34am

Jonathan Cohen said: "Bettyboy72 said: "Also I’m a little unsure why Bowen Yang was in the ensemble. Yes I know he was featured a bit but still mostly ensemble. He pulled focus for me because he’s such a campy ham. Maybe that’s what they wanted. I didn’t care for it."

Bowen Yang was already friends withJon Chu, so when Chu got the directing gig, Bowen said he really wanted to be in and would play any part. I thought he was good in the part, but the short answer is Bowen is in it because he asked."

Bowen is also one of Ariana’s closest friends (met at SNL) and since SNL was starting up their new season, Ariana has spoken about calling Lorne Michaels directly and asking that Bowen be allowed time off to film WICKED. Lorne said yes and Bowen balanced time between both projects.

 

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 6:38am

Jonathan Cohen said: "MagicalMusical said: "I do want to take a minute - is this musical really saying Animals being blamed for a draught and food shortage makes sense? What did Animals do, drink and eat too much?! And flying monkeys would be goodspies?! No one's gonna notice a flying monkey near them?!And if they are way up in the air, the monkeys can see and hear clearly what people and Animals are doing and saying?! I think that's the only problem I have with the material."

Nothing about the animal storylines makes any sense. I also didn't understand how the animals were losing the ability to speak. I get being silenced as a metaphor, but they were supposed to literally be losing the ability to speak and team Wizard is not actually good at magic.

Also, portrayingDoctor Dillamond as a literal goat was frustrating in context ofPeter Dinklage voicing the role.I get not wanting to castpeople with dwarfism as Munchkins. However, I don't see how hiding actors with dwarfism in voice over roles isbetter representation.

I'd ratherDinklage have played the Wizard.Jeff Goldblum did a great job, but he basically already played the same part inThor: Ragnarok."

If Peter played the wizard that would of give so much away during the movie and opening 

Updated On: 11/26/24 at 06:38 AM

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 8:34am

WldKingdomHM said: "If Peter played the wizard that would of giveso much away during the movie and opening"

I'm not sure it gives anything more away. They didn't show the Wizard's face in his first appearance but that was clearly Jeff Goldblum's very recognizable voice. 

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 9:20am

Jonathan Cohen said: "MagicalMusical said: "I do want to take a minute - is this musical really saying Animals being blamed for a draught and food shortage makes sense? What did Animals do, drink and eat too much?! And flying monkeys would be goodspies?! No one's gonna notice a flying monkey near them?!And if they are way up in the air, the monkeys can see and hear clearly what people and Animals are doing and saying?! I think that's the only problem I have with the material."

Nothing about the animal storylines makes any sense. I also didn't understand how the animals were losing the ability to speak. I get being silenced as a metaphor, but they were supposed to literally be losing the ability to speak and team Wizard is not actually good at magic.

Also, portrayingDoctor Dillamond as a literal goat was frustrating in context ofPeter Dinklage voicing the role.I get not wanting to castpeople with dwarfism as Munchkins. However, I don't see how hiding actors with dwarfism in voice over roles isbetter representation."

 

Who said they were hiding him? The man is an actor. Many actors do voice over roles, him included. I am sure dwarfism and representation had nothing to do with it. And Mr. Dinklage is doing quite fine in his career. The Rock could have voiced the character and we would not have seen him. We already knew Dillamond was not going to be physically played by a human anyway.

 

Updated On: 11/26/24 at 09:20 AM

[MagicalMusical]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 10:47am

Jonathan Cohen said: "Nothing about the animal storylines makes any sense. I also didn't understand how the animals were losing the ability to speak. I get being silenced as a metaphor, but they were supposed to literally be losing the ability to speak and team Wizard is not actually good at magic.

Also, portrayingDoctor Dillamond as a literal goat was frustrating in context ofPeter Dinklage voicing the role.I get not wanting to castpeople with dwarfism as Munchkins. However, I don't see how hiding actors with dwarfism in voice over roles isbetter representation.

I'd ratherDinklage have played the Wizard.Jeff Goldblum did a great job, but he basically already played the same part inThor: Ragnarok."

I wonder if Morrible could make the Animals stop talking? But I am glad we agree on the Animals being blamed making no sense. I also wanna say, I don't care if someone played a similar character before, if they are good at it, they can play similar characters as much as they want. I feel like Jeff was more the right choice than Peter would have been, and I actually agree with WldKingdomHM and uncageg with what they just said.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 11:19am

I'm going to be interested in the animal coversation after part 2. I feel like, there could be some expanding done with it. 

And I don't care what anyone says, the Kristin and Idina cameos are amazing. You can't change my mind. 

[Kad]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 11:26am

The animal stuff makes as much sense as it does in the show. To either excise it or bring it more in line with the novel would drastically change the musical as it is, and Chu et al clearly wanted to preserve the stage show as written. 

Chu and his team did a great job of papering over the show’s weaknesses, but did not eliminate them. Part 2 will be even more of a challenge in that regard as the book starts to get, imho, extremely messy as the events start to coincide with the events of Wizard of Oz. 

[ElephantLoveMedley]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 11:28am

Yesterday, Wicked grossed $15.6 million, earning the biggest Monday ever for November at the domestic box office.

https://deadline.com/2024/11/box-office-wicked-monday-record-1236187726/

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 11:36am

I saw it in XD yesterday and let me say it’s amazing. Cynthia/Ariana deserve Oscar noms, and Michelle’s performance grew on me (that cloud hair all over the place)

little things I missed the first time included Kristen’s wand twirling during her cameo and Professor “Marvels” crystal ball. 
 

Go see it again and make it loud it’s worth it.

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 11:47am

uncageg said: "Who said they were hiding him? The man is an actor. Many actors do voice over roles, him included. I am sure dwarfism and representation had nothing to do with it. And Mr. Dinklage is doing quite fine in his career. The Rock could have voiced the character and we would not have seen him. We already knew Dillamond was not going to be physically played by a human anyway."

Peter Dinklage has done voice over only work before and starred in a musical before. In a vacuum there's nothing noteworthy about him being cast as a goat. 

However, Wicked is a prequel to a film that employed over 120 actors with dwarfism. Excluding those actors from playing Munchkins in Wicked, had precedence in L. Frank Baum's original description and the stage show, but still was a choice that had to be actively thought about.    

In that context, I personally found it weird that Dinklage, the most famous actor in the world with dwarfism, was the only star in the movie you don't see and playing a badly CGI-ed goat. Showing diversity in how Munchkins were depicted was important to Jon M. Chu, and given the original Oz movie depicted Munchkins as overly cheerful and childlike, I would have preferred we actually see an actor with dwarfism playing a more three dimensional character.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 11:52am

If Dinklage, who has certainly been outspoken about representation of people with dwarfism in media, was fine with taking the role, then I think he doesn’t need your advocacy. 

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 11:58am

MagicalMusical said: "Jonathan Cohen said: "Nothing about the animal storylines makes any sense. I also didn't understand how the animals were losing the ability to speak. I get being silenced as a metaphor, but they were supposed to literally be losing the ability to speak and team Wizard is not actually good at magic."

I wonder if Morrible could make the Animals stop talking? But I am glad we agree on the Animals being blamed making no sense."

I always thought it was more of, like, they aren't allowed to talk so they eventually forget how to. Like, "if you don't use it, you lose it." And then that new born animals are never taught in the first place. 

 

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 12:15pm

Kad said: "If Dinklage, who has certainly been outspoken about representation of people with dwarfism in media, was fine with taking the role, then I think he doesn’t need your advocacy."

Sure, people would pay more attention to Dinklage than me, on literally any topic, but especially this one. I wasn't trying to advocate for him, just express how I experienced the film.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 12:25pm

They explicitly say in the movie that if you cage an animal they begin to lose their ability to speak.

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 12:30pm

TotallyEffed said: "They explicitly say in the movie that if you cage an animal they begin to lose their ability to speak."

Dillamond starts having trouble talking before he's put in a cage. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 12:35pm

Plot holes? In Wicked? I can't believe it.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 12:48pm

Kind of inevitable when you take a story that ran on fairy tale logic, then turned it into a serious and edgy fantasy, then turned that into a big splashy family musical.

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 5:47pm

So stupid question. If elephie saw the face of the wizard during wizard and I (the statue)and also they both saw him during the projection in emerald city why are they confused when they go into the throne room? 

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 11/26/24 at 6:08pm

https://www.vulture.com/article/wicked-movie-vs-broadway-show-the-biggest-improvement.html

[MezzA101]

Posted: 11/27/24 at 10:19am

Wicked Movie: All the Changes Made to Musical and Every Reference

 

https://variety.com/lists/wicked-movie-changes-musical-references/