What Patti LuPone Really Thought of Madonna's "Evita" movie.... — Page 2

Had they filmed it in the 80s, Patti would have been good, but she was too old to play it by the time they filmed it in 1996.

I've listened to some of the soundtrack, it's not exciting because some of the keys are lowered and that takes away from the score. The only thing that impressed me was Madonna's "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", which I think she did well.

EVITA is one of the best stage to screen adaptations of a Broadway show. Madonna was perfect for the movie and gave a dignified, poignant, and heartfelt performance. She was in excellent voice. And who the hell would want to see a close-up of Patti Lupone on a 30ft screen, anyway?

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Updated On: 8/13/06 at 12:59 AM

Michael Bennett, maybe she was insulted by the requirement that she GIVE a screen test, instead of being GIVEN the part.

Just a theory.

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Updated On: 8/13/06 at 07:00 AM

I love how people keep saying the movie was boaring ,it was a pretty direct transfer from the stage and is supposed to be low key.
Evita is not chicago(where people went wow this is great because of how flashy it is)it's a grubby gritty musical bio.

The only things I hated about the film were:

a.) Softening the character of Eva.
b.) No big, white dress during "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina." Hate the dress in the movie.

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Another "Evita", Florence Lacey, in a recent Playbill interview, basically feels the same way as Patti regarding Madonna's performance (click link below). Lowered keys or not...I thought Madonna was, well, boring in the role. She has "dead eyes" that never change from scene to scene.....a real snooze.
Flo's take on Madonna

I liked this film in the theater and again, recently, on tv. I thought it was well directed, even with the sung thru dialogue. Banderas was wonderful, imo...and that was a surprise to me. Madonna, while better than I expected, was still not up to the part. She is wooden and seems quite uncomfortable. I dont think she is a good singer anyway, so the lowering of the keys wasnt surprising, tho it did take away from the excitement of the score. I dislike her DCFMA, she shows nothing, simply holds her hands up and shakes them...it looks bizarre. When she falls at the end of Waltz... it is comical, not sad.
Her golden globe is a joke, and should be put up next to Pia Zadora's in their hall of shame. That award belongs to Frances McDormand. It wouldve been more appropriate for Debbie Reynolds to have won for Mother.

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I can't get past those "devil doll" eyes on Madonna. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul... but they covered hers up!

I hate it when they put dark contacts on actors in movies. She was fighting an uphill battle because of them. It's really creepy when you notice it in her closeups. She looks like a glassy-eyed mannequin.

*waits for snarkness to begin*

And as far as Patti refusing a screen test? What planet is she living on? They would never just give her the part.

In fact, there would never have been a film version of Evita made, if someone of Madonna's "level of fame" hadn't signed on to play her. It was the ONLY reason the project was green-lighted by a film studio for production. The. Only. Reason.

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I love Patti LuPone to death, but I find it really hard to believe that she's never watched the movie.