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

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/12/06 at 9:44pm

When the film was being first planned in the late 70s, LuPone refused to do a screen test. I have no idea why, but she has definitely had ill will towards the project since the very get go.

The problem with the film EVITA is that it is too literal. And because it is all sung, the lip syncing techniques used for film completely detach the audience from the action.

It's still leagues better than most of the movie musical adaptations that have come out the past couple of years.

[CurtisTaylorJr2]

Posted: 8/12/06 at 11:55pm

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.

[alterego]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 12:45am

Got to love her! But, if she feels that way can you imagine how the creator of the role Elaine Paige must feel?

[Luscious]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 12:59am

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?

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

[mentaltenant]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 6:39am

I'm not a Madonna fan but I think she sang the role quite well, the movie itself was pretty boring but Madonna surprised me with her performance.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 7:00am

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

Just a theory.

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

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 8:40am

i enjoyed the movie, actually, and thought madonna did well. i didnt really care for the looking-at-the-camera-while-they-sing thing, but i thought it was actually pretty good.
patti wouldve been too old to do it, i think...
but yeah

[west end artist1]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 10:16am

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.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 11:31am

I think thats entirely possible Stage Manager. Or perhaps, being pragmatic she realized that there was little chance she would be cast over Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and Ann Margret (the names being rumoured at the time). She was also probably aware that if they went with a stage EVITA, it would be Elaine Paige who created the role and who was Tim Rice's girlfriend. (There was a general feeling of ill will towards LuPone because the entire creative team wanted Paige on Broadway.)

LuPone has gone on record as saying the entire experience of doing EVITA was rather uncomfortable. She may have just wanted to protect herself from any further disappointment.

[SweeneyPhanatic]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 12:03pm

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.

[AshleyBrownFan123]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 12:14pm

Patti always has to have a grudge. Madonna, Glen Close, ALW...

[Buck]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 8:51am

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

[mortgageguy79]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 8:59am

I agree that LuPone was too old for the movie, but I will say I didn't think it was a boring piece of sh*t. I actually enjoyed it...not my favorite movie by any means, but it gets the story across pretty well. Madonna is a cheese...

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 10:21am

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.

[OasisBroadway]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 10:26am

I thought the movie was OK. Clearly though, Patti's singing is miles above Madonna's.

But seriously, how old is Patti? That quote sounds like something a little girl would say when she doesn't get the part. Judging something and making a public statement about it like that, without even having seen it, is beyond immature. Frankly it's just pathetic.

Over the years I have tried my hardest to respect Patti's work. And Sweeney Todd certainly had me astonished at what she is capable of. But it is very difficult to respect someone who is so outspoken with her disrespect for others.

Florence Lacey's statement regarding the movie is the PROFESSIONAL way to handle it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 10:32am

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.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 10:33am

The laserdisc version of the film that I have has a documentary on the making of the film that was not included in the DVD release, which is a shame. I think that Madonna brings alot to the role and she articulates it quite nicely. There are many parallels between Madonna and Eva and I think Madonna pulls from all of that. Even if it didn't always translate well, she was truly committed to the part and took some huge risks. IMO, the Golden Globe was well deserved and the austere performance she gave was a part of HER vision of Eva. As an actress (regardless of her shoddy acting history) she is still given domain over the choices she makes for a character, fictional or real. We may not all agree with her choices, but that is the value of art-we all don't have to like them.

[blueroses]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 10:42am

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