VARIETY on the state of movie musicals. - Page 2

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 1/6/12 at 3:03pm

I thought Johnny Depp was actually quite good as Todd, but otherwise I agree with most of Sean's criticisms. (I can understand Burton's concern about the extras singing choral numbers, but even non-musicals have choruses singing on the soundtrack. We don't have to see them.)

Even worse, I thought, was Helena Bonham Carter playing Mrs. Lovett as if the poor woman were heavily sedated with Xanax.

What drives the plot is the meeting between Todd's passion for revenge and Lovett's mindless but obsessive quest for capitalist success. Without the latter's manic and increasingly desperate energy, there are no meat pies and no story. (And no comment on the amorality of the bourgeoisie, but I realize some people prefer their musicals go easy on the political metaphors.)

This was even more a problem since Depp made the reasonable choice to play Todd as a deeply depressed person with occasional bursts of manic violence. Most of the time, I didn't believe the co-stars had enough energy to kill a mouse, much less a man.

I'm normally a fan of Carter, but she did the film no favor. And I seriously spent the movie wondering whether Sondheim had become senile that he would give that casting his seal of approval (as he did in every interview I read).

[charlesjguiteau]

Posted: 1/6/12 at 3:19pm

Here's a timid cheer for the only true musical movie that I know of to come out in 2011: THE MUPPETS! Sure there could have been more than a handful of new songs included, and Lord knows those songs could have shown a good deal more Broadway polish than they did. But at least the show was CONCEIVED within true-blue musical-comedy precepts where anyone can burst into song anywhere without having to be on a Karaoke stage or playing a boombox (I'm looking at YOU, revival of FOOTLOOSE!)

If LES MIS or BOOK OF MORMON (a show I loathed) can translate to the screen intact and remind people of how glorious a true movie musical can be, then more power to them-- they're both shows that seem MADE for a comfy stadium seat and a tall bag of popcorn.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 1/6/12 at 4:46pm

>> I'm looking at YOU, revival of FOOTLOOSE!

OMG, the horror, the horror... That was just so... so.... awful. LOL

And nice to know I'm not the only one who thought BoM was a relative waste of a hundred and fifty bucks.

[charlesjguiteau]

Posted: 1/6/12 at 8:21pm

See how much we agree on, Sean? (Re the discussion over at Porgy and Bess...)

[sally1112]

Posted: 1/6/12 at 9:43pm

YAY to you for cheering the Muppets, and for cheering musicals where the characters burst into song. So tired of numbers taking place in a characters mind or only on stage.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 1/6/12 at 10:16pm

Here's a rundown from last I chatted about projects with various people:

ANNIE -- the Smith fam still wants to do it but aren't pushing. (ie not a passion project but a vehicle, just as Karate Kid was. Besides, Will is going to be too busy promoting MIB 3 and has other projects coming up for himself)

BYE BYE BIRDIE -- dead. Dead dead dead dead dead. There have been many drafts of this over the years and they're not good enough. In my opinion, all the drafts I've read have been adapted SOOO off-track from the source material that they may as well just write a brand new original story and new songs. To make this show "current" is pointless if they're going to keep ANY of the score the same. Shankman is like the eighth director who is pursuing it, but Shankman doesn't really have many other film projects on his plate, so for him it's this, nothing, or something that wouls ACTUALLY get greenlit.

MAMMA MIA 2 -- not happening.

HAIRSPRAY 2 -- not happening.

GREASE 3 -- there will be news about this soon. There's studio interest (once again) but I don't believe they liked any previous draft well enough to greenlight it. Just like we've seen before, there will probably be a small mention in the Hollywood Reports or in Entertainment Weekly and then it'll go away again.

BOB THE MUSICAL -- Shaiman wrote it and hopefully it'll actually happen this time.


A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM -- a new script was supposedly sent to Jack Black.

WICKED -- last year there were some meetings to narrow down a list of directors (too early, IMO) but don't expect the movie to happen until at least 4 years from now.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR -- Nope.

SUNSET BOULEVARD -- Webber can't get it made. He's tried SO many times, but it's never gonna happen.

AMERICAN IDIOT -- there are meetings about it this year but I'm sure they're just to appease Green Day. I don't think this will happen.

IN THE HEIGHTS -- this is one project where I haven't gotten ANY inside news since the studio announced it dropped it. Lin said he was pursuing another studio and didn't seem worried. I think this property more than ANY OTHER deserves to get made into a feature musical, and would be VERY successful.

JERSEY BOYS -- there is still interest in this from a certain director but I'm not sure where he stands with the studio.

GUYS & DOLLS -- Hugh Jackman was going to do it. I'm told that the studio told him that if he was still unavailable that they would pursue other talent. It's been speculated that such talent included Usher and Justin Timberlake.

A STAR IS BORN -- can't remember who it was, but they were in negotiations with some name to do it.

[Frank thebellhop]

Posted: 1/6/12 at 11:51pm

Forumn with Jack Black? PppppEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUU no thank you.

I thought Clint Eastwood was set to direct Beyonce in A Star is Born. I even read (in Entertainment Weekly I think) that when B announced she was pregnant Clint and the studio pushed back production dates to keep her involved.

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 12:00am

Yes, I thought Beyonce was doing A Star Is Born with Russell Crowe and Clint Eastwood as director.

It's a shame Sunset won't ever happen. I love that show, even if it was doomed from the tart to never be bankable. I like a lot of the songs and the visuals were stunning.

[vf]

Posted: 1/7/12 at 6:58am

Thanks CapnHook for all the info. Guess they're really going to update Guys and Dolls somehow. Any word on the South Pacific movie?

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 3:12pm

The films mentioned are by and large adaptations of Broadway musicals, or mvies with presentational song e.g. Burleque, Joyful Noise. What was the last true movie musical with an original score written for the screen?

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 3:33pm

If you count animated movies and other films for children, Wilmington, there are a couple of original film musicals each year. For TV, check out episodes of the Backyardigans!

[JP2]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 3:55pm

I really want PIXAR to make an original musical. Like, really really badly.

[charlesjguiteau]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 10:53am

Now that the show has closed on Broadway, wouldn't BILLY ELLIOT be the perfect show to make it's way back to the movie screen in its new fully musical form? Perhaps Stephen Daldry is exhausted by the project after all these years with it, but I for one would love to see how he would translate those incredible theater-based moments like "Solidarity" and the Swan Lake pas de deux to the screen.

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 1:02pm

what the Variety article failed to mention in regards to the filmed SWEENEY TODD, is that while it may have only made 52 million in the usa, it did over 150,000,000 world wide...not too shabby...it did have JOHNNY DEPP, and he is a big world wide film star...the producers at least broke even on this project and possibly even made money...so i wonder why we are not seeing any mre Sondheim musicals for possible filmming...

[charlesjguiteau]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 1:30pm

^ Surely you don't seriously wonder, do you? When the most popular movie musical in years is the embarrassing MAMMA MIA, what possible Sondheim show could compete in today's marketplace? ASSASSINS? PACIFIC OVERTURES? Frankly I'd give anything to get a new improved film of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC after the abhorrent Hal Prince version from the mid-70's but I can't imagine what studio would ever bankroll it.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 2:52pm

Into the Woods is crying out to be a film- animated, live or a blend of the two.

[darquegk]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 3:55pm

Given the state of the dramedy character-study genre as it stands today, COMPANY has never been more filmable than it is now, and with a few minor changes, it could be VERY cinematic.

[ComingUpRoses2]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 4:49pm

I agree about Company. It was a total crowd pleaser when the Philharmonic version played in theaters and that was without the benefit of real sets, locations, etc. With a cast as good as that one and some interesting concepts for the musical numbers, it could be a smash. The sort of anti-plot/episodic structure that some people used to think rendered it impossible for film adaptation is now not so unusual, so the audiences will be far more accepting. Plus, it's not like the story goes from A to A, the characters do learn things by the end and grow.

Into the Woods is another that's ripe for a film version, but not with that horrible script that's been going around for years. I think what people need to decide is who the film is to be made for. Clearly, children seem like the easy choice, but that might leave a lot of the more interesting material on the cutting room floor (namely the entire 2nd act). Anyone ever seen Into the Woods Jr? Yeeesh! I'd give it a nice PG-13 so that they could keep all the material. The Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies certainly did well going that route. If they sugar coat it too much for a G or PG audience, it'll be deprived of a lot of what made it so special in the first place.

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 3:10pm

Honestly, I wouldn't adapt Company for film without combining it with The Enclave so we finally get the obvious solution that Sondheim and Furth stubbornly refused to admit for yeas.

[binau]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 3:37pm

the producers at least broke even on this project and possibly even made money

The budget according to wikipedia is reportedly 50 million. I think grossing 150 million world wide suggests a healthy profit and a successful movie, so I don't know why/agree that variety comment was stupid.

[jo]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 6:50pm

Will this appeal to the movie-going public?




PhotoShop and related article by Broadway.com --

http://www.broadway.com/buzz/159252/do-you-hear-the-people-sing-all-about-hugh-jackman-russell-crowe-taylor-swift-the-rest-of-the-les-miserables-movie-cast/

Updated On: 1/10/12 at 06:50 PM