Weinstein regrets last year's NEVERLAND Tony performance

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 12:26pm

In a new interview with Billboard.com, producer Harvey Weinstein reveals that he has regrets over last year's FINDING NEVERLAND performance by Jennifer Hudson on the 2014 Tony Awards. Many in the theater community took offense to a performance from a show which was not yet on Broadway by a singer who was not even a member of the cast.

Weinstein admits that the push to get his new show exposure on national TV may have cost his stars, Matthew Morrison, Kelsey Grammer and Laura Michelle Kelly the opportunity to receive Tony nods for their performances at this year's awards ceremony. "The Tony committee spanked us by being unorthodox," explains Weinstein. "The Broadway community likes to do things a certain way, and I think we paid the price for it. If I had to do it all over again, maybe I wouldn't have done it."

The producer goes on to lament, "Tony love is very nice for a show, especially our cast. But this has nothing to do with Matthew or Kelsey or Laura Michelle or [director] Diane [Paulus.] This was Broadway saying, 'Hey, Hollywood boy, you and Denzel [Washington] and your buddy Jake [Gyllenhaal], this is our turf. Play by the rules or don't.'"

Weinstein shares that he may go about things a little differently for his next theatrical project, a musical adaptation of Around The World In 80 Days. "We'll try to find the happy medium," he offers.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 12:28pm

As well he should

 

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 12:29pm

At least he seems to be becoming a little self-aware.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 12:31pm

I mean, Jennifer Hudson's performance certainly didn't HELP his case, but it is not the sole reason for Finding Neverland getting shut out. There are several reasons for that, the main reason being that it's not a good show.

Updated On: 6/5/15 at 12:31 PM

[Bilbo3]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 12:36pm

Weinstein admits that the push to get his new show exposure on national TV may have cost his stars, Matthew Morrison, Kelsey Grammer and Laura Michelle Kelly the opportunity to receive Tony nods for their performances at this year's awards ceremony.

Yeah cause Morrison, Grammer and LMK had anything to do with that Jen Hud performance. If this is true then shame on the broadway community. Don't punish actors for idiot producers. 

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 12:38pm

A little self aware and a little inarticulate.

"The Tony committee spanked us by being unorthodox..."

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 12:40pm

They didn't deserve nominations. There were better performances and better musicals. He's just needs to shut up.

 

Grammer was the only nod I expected for this show.

[Bilbo3]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 12:41pm

I mean, Jennifer Hudson's performance certainly didn't HELP his case, but it is not the sole reason for Finding Neverland getting shut out. There are several reasons for that, the main reason being that it's not a good show.

Lots of show get nominated that aren't good shows. FN getting snubbed out of all the tony categories had nothing to do with it not being a good show. I could think of many other shows that were far worse than FN and still got nominated. The FN snub was purely political. I can understand it not getting best musical or any of the big award nominations. But it getting snubbed out EVERYTHING was just the Broadway community throwing darts at Harvey while hitting everyone affiliated with his show in the process.

Updated On: 6/5/15 at 12:41 PM

[artscallion]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 12:53pm

He's basically found a way to say, "oops, I was naughty.  But the awards are meaningless anyway as demonstrated by the punitive way they shut us out.

[gmhots]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 12:55pm

Grammer was probably the worst part of that entire thing, but that's just me.

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 12:59pm

This whole thing with Weinstein is just embarrassing. Him buying his way onto the Tony's and Jennifer Hudson singing did not cost Morrison, Kelly or Grammer a Tony nod.

He can't stop making excuses for this show. And tickets are selling well so he should just keep his mouth shut.

[leefowler]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 1:05pm

Does anyone really think that the Jennifer Hudson performance was in ANYONE'S mind when the Tony committtee made their selections?

The one thing that hurt Finding Neverland was Harvey's heavy-handed producing, combined with the fact that the musical was hardly a home run.

[jv92]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 1:09pm

Your show sucked, Harvey. That's why you didn't get any nominations. The book and score were turgid. It's an idea as freeze-dryed as Walt Disney's icy corpse. (I know, I know. He was cremated. Good joke, though.) And your attempt at being David Merrick would have even embarrassed David Merrick. 

 

 

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 1:19pm

He's such a tool. I'm surprised, being a master PR guy, that he is going off the deep end like this. Deal with the fact the show was a piece of $hit and move on, Harvey. It didn't get nominated because it didn't deserve to get nominated. There was no conspiracy. The only message that was sent was: you cannot get away with putting on an awful show with awful performances and get nominated for a Tony.

Also, why does he bring up Jake Gyllenhaal and Denzel Washington? Were they producers or is he talking about Gyllenhaal not being nominated as an actor?

[PJPan]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 1:24pm

"Also, why does he bring up Jake Gyllenhaal and Denzel Washington? Were they producers or is he talking about Gyllenhaal not being nominated as an actor?"

Yeah, that made no sense. Denzel WON for Fences, but I figure he meant how he was not nominated last year for "Raisin in the Sun" and Jake's non-nomination this year. Oh well, it was a crowded field. He seems to really think it's all because of him and not that other performances were considered better by the committee than the ones he mentioned.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 2:17pm

"He's such a tool. I'm surprised, being a master PR guy, that he is going off the deep end like this. Deal with the fact the show was a piece of $hit and move on, Harvey. It didn't get nominated because it didn't deserve to get nominated. There was no conspiracy. The only message that was sent was: you cannot get away with putting on an awful show with awful performances and get nominated for a Tony."

And everyone who likes the show is wrong. That's just how things roll around here, I suppose. 

[mattporter17]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 2:21pm

He honestly needs to accept that maybe his show is not as good as the dozen nominated shows on Broadway. He keeps trying to find reasons for why his show wasn't nominated, and as political as Broadway might be sometimes, it really comes down to a few things. Performances and Material.

[jv92]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 2:34pm

And his new show is AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS? Another show no one needs to see. Orson Welles and Cole Porter couldn't even pull it off seventy years ago. 

 

[Kad]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 2:36pm

I already forgot that Finding Neverland performed last year.

[_IrisTInkerbell]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 3:04pm

And everyone who likes the show is wrong. That's just how things roll around here, I suppose. "

 That's what it seems like! Everybody always talking in these lovely absolutes... I love it and stand by that. I thought it was visually stunning and deserved design nods. I also thought the acting was good. I personally enjoyed the music. All that made me not the feel the weaknesses in the book as much, and I left the theater elated, something not all that many shows did this season. I'm a fool to feel that way? So be it. A happy fool I'll be!

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 3:12pm

At no point did I say that everyone who likes the show is wrong. I said that I think it's atrocious, my opinion. But my point was that Harvey needs to accept that his show didn't get nominated because people didn't vote for it, not because people got together to conspire against the show and send him a message. Basically, Harvey needs to learn that, unlike what everyone has probably told him, not everything is about him.

And his point about Jake Gyllenhaal and Denzel Washington is absurd. Gyllenhaal didn't get in because the category was so competitive, for goodness' sake, Glenn Close (a celebrated stage actress) didn't get in either. Washington, a very recent Tony winner, didn't get in for the same reason. 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 3:34pm

The performance last year was not a big deal and had nothing to do with this year's nominations.  But it is funny that Weinstein has given us an all-new Tony conspiracy theory this season to add to the list.  Because as we all know, there is not one Tony voter who actually votes for what they think is the best.  Or if they do, it's for one of those categories nobody talks about much.

[valeposh]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 5:51pm

"And everyone who likes the show is wrong. That's just how things roll around here, I suppose. "
 That's what it seems like! Everybody always talking in these lovely absolutes... I love it and stand by that. I thought it was visually stunning and deserved design nods. I also thought the acting was good. I personally enjoyed the music. All that made me not the feel the weaknesses in the book as much, and I left the theater elated, something not all that many shows did this season. I'm a fool to feel that way? So be it. A happy fool I'll be!"

 I loved the show and stand by it. Also, if a show not funny nor enjoyable like Something Rotten got a nod... I do think Neverland was snubbed. 

[notalwaysontime]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 6:31pm

The thing that pisses me off about him making comments like this is that it's an insult to the other shows, actors and creators that were nominated. Because if he feels that one of those nomination spots rightfully was theirs and would have been, he's also basically saying other actors and shows only got in because the big bad petty nomination committee was mad at him. By being a little bitch he's taking something away from someone else's big moment. He can't stand things not being all about him. 

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/5/15 at 6:50pm

valeposh, while I agree with your assessment of Something Rotten!, it's inclusion in the Tony nominations has nothing to do with a snub for Finding Neverland. The former show got a number of excellent reviews and has enjoyed some nice buzz and word of mouth. Finding Neverland, on the other hand, received mostly negative reviews and the buzz has been mixed at best. The two shows really aren't comparable. 

For those who think the show was snubbed, what specifically would you remove from a category to include Finding Neverland. It's easy to say a show was snubbed, but saying that means that another show shouldn't have gotten nominated, and from where I stand most, if not all of the nominations, were well-deserved and expected.