What is up with all of these movie musicals coming out of nowhere- Page 2

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 11:33am

Evita maybe gave it a little tap on the shin, but what was the next major musical after that? Moulin Rouge, which was like five years later?

[crushgroove]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 11:40am

Actually Evita WAS a success....just not in the US...it's budget was 55 million. It grossed 51 million at the box office domestically and 91 million internationally. 141 million ain't bad. It's ranked the #12 musical in terms of box office.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 11:45am

You forget: Only about 1/10th of those movies are actually going to get made.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 11:54am

Exactly, Borstal. Let's just all start lining up now for that movie of FOLLIES, shall we?

[jpbran]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 11:55am

X2!

And if they DO get made, it could still be 5-10 years.

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 12:00pm

Let's get real. We ALL know it was Connie and Carla that really showcased movie musicals.

Okay, that comment is totally tongue-in-cheek, but I actually do like that movie in all its cheeziness. lol

[oohshizz146]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 12:03pm

Hold on! Wicked in 2010? Is that just a guess or is there some sort of proof backing that up? What a fail.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 12:42pm

I, for one, am thankful for this.

Some have been better than others, but they all tried.

I'm interested to see which of the ones they are talking about now actually get made and who will be in them and... ya, you get the picture *smirks*

Updated On: 7/24/08 at 12:42 PM

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 3:00pm

oohshizz146, they've been saying that about Wicked since it debuted on Broadway. I wouldn't put much stock in it until filming has begun.

[Flight0017]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 3:08am

CapnHook: Your site was fab!

[Weez]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 4:19am

CapnHook: ever thought of downgrading to a freebie blog? It won't be as manipulatable as a website but you can still get the info out there.

And is there anyone who actually has a proper, serious, distinct problem with movie musicals being in the foreground right now? Just make the most of it, before the ebb and flow drags them under for the next few years.

Posted: 7/25/08 at 9:15am

Looking back at many movie musicals of the heyday...a LOT of them were based on films already done or based on many reworked classics. It is no surprise that a lot of these films are being made and remade or reworked. I embrace that. If it is going to appeal to a younger generation and continue to push the movie musical genre forward,..I'm all for it.

The movie musical never went away in a sense.
Once the mid 80's hit,...movies were heavily laced with thematic music to push the storyline further (hence, Flashdance, Dirty Dancing, and those types) in the 90's they turned animated...even though DIsney had the stronghold in that dept...we were still watching musicals through disney princesses, nightmare before christmas and Anastasia.

EVITA (a very successful live action musical) in 1996 /technically 97 nationwide spawned oscar noms, won best song..and earned a Golden Globe Award for Madonna's performance as Eva....it came in at #2 at the box office domestically during the christmas season and was quite a phenom all around the world at the time. Definitely not a disaster, it grossed 50 million in the US and $141 million worldwide...it opened the eyes of Hollywood execs and pushed Baz Luhrman (who already had heavy music in his previous films,..Strictly Ballroom and Romeo and Juliet) to come up with MOULIN ROUGE in 2001 (4 years later)..MOULIN ROUGE ITSELF was a disapointment in the states (Leave it to U.S. audiences to be fickle). Moulin ROUGE only made 57 million in the U.S.--BUT worldwide it made $171 million and that is what really opened some Hollywood executive's minds.

TV Movies of Gypsy and South Pacific and Bye Bye Birdie were made....and that drew in viewers.

That then kick started Chicago...and the rest is history.

The success of this new wave of generations of kids who grew up with High School Musical 5 or 6 years ago are also in hot demand which influenced execs to start making them again.

It is no surprise really,...and I am SOOOO loving that musicals are generally in the conscious of people...and will stay for quite some time. These kids growing up with Camp Rock, Legally Blonde on MTV and HSM will want to grow up watching more and eventually showing their kids new ones....


so let's embrace it...support it,...stay positive about it..and never let it go.

Instead of knocking it or defeating the ambitious future projects in store,...let's keep this art form alive by celebrating it and supporting it. We definitely have to show Hollywood execs that they are a viable addition to our arts landscape and very necessary for our society to provide escapism for and a form of entertainment that should never go away.

THIS IS WHY WE ALL HAVE TO SUPPORT OPENING WEEKEND NUMBERS AT THE BOX OFFICE, because execs only look at those numbers.

Whether its a Rocky Horror remake or a Hairspray 2.
We need to embrace these ventures for future generations to come.

When growing up,..I was very apathetic to watching old musicals because I didn't relate to the performers,..or just thought the filming was 'old and grainy' and boring........I would've enjoyed current artists or performers in them if I knew they would do it...in later years I embraced the classics and love them to death,......but...i totally understand when MTV wants to remake Rocky Horror. It has been over 30 years.....just let the negative stigma go...and enjoy what's to come.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 9:40am

(hence, Flashdance, Dirty Dancing, and those types)

I've never understood why some people consider those movies musicals.

Posted: 7/25/08 at 10:12am

oh, I don't consider them musicals at all...simply stating that 'the musical' took on a different form in those years. The music used in those films drove the success of the movie. Those kinds of movies could not stand alone otherwise...There's no way you can think of Flashdance or Dirty Dancing or Footloose without thinking of the songs. The songs were the focal point of the story telling. with the advent of MTV in the 80's...those films became long form music videos....and artists like Michael Jackson and Madonna took the musical format and brought it to small screens on television in form of 'mini-musicals'..(example: Beat it- west side story/material girl- gentlemen prefer blondes)

the musical film format was alive and strong in the 80's...it just morphed into different mediums.

Posted: 7/27/08 at 11:03am

wicked film is definitely a front burner option..