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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 19, 2021 6:57:06 GMT
So since this movie was originally announced, how many other stage musicals have been adapted for film? What is it with this ones production that they can’t seem to get past first gear? Exactly. In The Heights, West Side Story, Dear Evan Hanson to name but three. Yet Wicked and Sunset Boulevard seem to be continually stalled. Makes you think it will never actually happen. |
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2021 7:07:11 GMT
So since this movie was originally announced, how many other stage musicals have been adapted for film? What is it with this ones production that they can’t seem to get past first gear? Exactly. In The Heights, West Side Story, Dear Evan Hanson to name but three. Yet Wicked and Sunset Boulevard seem to be continually stalled. Makes you think it will never actually happen. Wicked has been slowly moving forward recently - Jon M. Chu, who directed In the Heights, is now attached and apparently they are in the process of casting it, so I think there's a chance we'll see this sometime towards the end of next year. |
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Post by Someone in a tree on May 19, 2021 8:02:11 GMT
So since this movie was originally announced, how many other stage musicals have been adapted for film? What is it with this ones production that they can’t seem to get past first gear? And wasn't it originally conceived as a film? If so it makes the delay even stranger |
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Post by anthony40 on May 19, 2021 11:44:20 GMT
So since this movie was originally announced, how many other stage musicals have been adapted for film? What is it with this ones production that they can’t seem to get past first gear? And wasn't it originally conceived as a film? If so it makes the delay even stranger And apparently financed by a studio |
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Post by fluxcapacitor on May 19, 2021 12:48:54 GMT
So since this movie was originally announced, how many other stage musicals have been adapted for film? What is it with this ones production that they can’t seem to get past first gear? I've always thought Wicked in its current form as a stage musical is very tricky to translate to film. Some of the biggest moments, like Defying Gravity, totally work as spectacles in the theatre but would just read as campy in the movie unless they're revamped quite thoroughly. Elphaba hovering above Oz in CGI whilst singing the climax of the song for a whole minute just can't have the same impact as it does on stage. The whole show needs careful thought and deconstruction to make it work on film. As Schwartz explains in the article posted above by Anthony: "“In order to do something that will work on its own merits, you have to do something different. The only concern is people who would be coming expecting to see a filmed version of the play. They’re not going to see that.” Some musicals - The Prom for example - work well lifted and transposed to another medium. Others - like the Producers, which granted is an extreme example of lifting the stage show and just adding a fourth wall - just don't. Wicked wouldn't, and I think one reason it's taking so long is that they realise this and are purposely taking their time to rework the source material. I also think it's actually testament to how well it was originally moulded into a musical that it's tricky to unravel into something else. I see Someone in a tree's point re: the project originally being conceived as a film, but you have to remember that was before it was worked into its current form. Had it originally developed into a film as planned, it would be a very different process and end product. I also think casting is a major issue. Lea Michele in her Glee days was the obvious movie Elphaba. Once she got too old (and all the backlash towards her on set behaviour began) there was no one else obvious. I'm afraid anyone on here guessing the names recent West End Elphabas or Galindas are way off the mark, as are those guessing older Elphabas who are now "names". The two leads are going to be Americans, they're going to be young (Kerry Ellis is not going to be playing a college aged Elphie) and they're going to be names in some way - possibly along the same lines as how Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel in the live action Little Mermaid, so famous in certain circles but a "new" face to many people. Finally, there is also a slight issue with the Wizard of Oz connection. The source is based on the MGM Movie (the witch isn't even green in the book) so there's every possibility that rights could be difficult to clear, and that each little detail needs consideration depending on how closely they want to align the finished product with the 1939 original. The Disney sequel Return to Oz had to clear the ruby slippers separately to the characters, for example, as they were owned by MGM. So all in all, there's a lot causing delays! |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 19, 2021 12:57:17 GMT
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Post by sph on May 19, 2021 13:17:46 GMT
I believe it's called "development hell" isn't it? Where a movie can't get past the early stages of production due to problems with scripts, concepts, directors etc.
And yes, Wicked is such a... stage musical, I imagine translating it to screen just as effectively is going to be difficult. Don't expect to see a stage Elphaba or Glinda in the final film though. It'll be Hollywood casting, even if they're relatively unknown.
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2021 13:25:33 GMT
I also think casting is a major issue. Lea Michele in her Glee days was the obvious movie Elphaba. Once she got too old (and all the backlash towards her on set behaviour began) there was no one else obvious. I'm afraid anyone on here guessing the names recent West End Elphabas or Galindas are way off the mark, as are those guessing older Elphabas who are now "names". The two leads are going to be Americans, they're going to be young (Kerry Ellis is not going to be playing a college aged Elphie) and they're going to be names in some way - possibly along the same lines as how Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel in the live action Little Mermaid, so famous in certain circles but a "new" face to many people. I think it's fairly realistic to assume Elphaba is likely to be a somewhat known but not hugely famous American actress and singer of colour with a strong Broadway background - the likes of Ariana DeBose, Emmy Raver-Lampman or Ashley Park (though the latter may be more of a Glinda). All of them have plenty of musical theatre experience and aren't megastars but have all now been in shows or films that have brought them to the attention of a wider audience. And they're all in their early 30s, the casting isn't going to go older than that. Glinda will either be a name like Anna Kendrick, an upcoming star like Dove Cameron or Rachel Zegler or cast along similar Broadway experience levels to Elphaba, with names in the other main parts like The Prom did. |
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Post by robertb213 on May 19, 2021 13:49:54 GMT
Dove Cameron does seem the obvious choice for Glinda. And they'll squeeze James Corsen in somewhere, probably as The Wizard, with a Meryl Streep/Christine Baranski type as Morrible. It'll be Elphaba who's the tricky casting. All I ask is that they cast people who can actually sing it, as written, without needing to be lifelessly autotuned beyond all recognition (Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, I'm looking at you).
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Post by talkstageytome on May 19, 2021 17:27:12 GMT
I saw Emmy Raver-Lampman's name mentioned recently and she's jumped right to the top of my Elphaba dream-casting list. She's got a musical theatre background but is also now in a pretty popular Netflix show (The Umbrella Academy), which she's great in! Seem like a perfect choice.
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Post by sph on May 19, 2021 17:30:57 GMT
Oh, Christine Baranski as Morrible! Now THAT I could see!
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2021 18:34:31 GMT
I saw Emmy Raver-Lampman's name mentioned recently and she's jumped right to the top of my Elphaba dream-casting list. She's got a musical theatre background but is also now in a pretty popular Netflix show (The Umbrella Academy), which she's great in! Seem like a perfect choice. I've seen some videos of her playing Angelica in Hamilton and as Elphaba from when she was the US Tour standby for the role - seems perfect casting to me! |
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Post by talkingheads on May 19, 2021 19:31:57 GMT
If they can film Hamilton onstage, why can't they do the same for Wicked?
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Post by danb on May 19, 2021 19:51:06 GMT
Because ‘Hamilton’ is really a relatively small character piece, whereas people expect spectacle from ‘Wicked’ even if its just a witch on a stick.
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Post by andrew on May 19, 2021 20:46:17 GMT
I was very sceptical about how a Wicked movie would look like, but after seeing In The Heights I think Jon M. Chu is going to absolutely nail it. Can't wait to see who he casts.
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Post by sph on May 19, 2021 23:20:42 GMT
I think also... they've never needed a movie. They've never had to push for it too much because the musical is such a huge hit, still selling well and has had many international productions. The Wicked "brand" has stood on its own two feet for so many years now that adding a movie to the mix may upset the already-successful apple cart.
Although yes, the piece as it stands is more theatrical than cinematic. Although you could really say that about most musicals and sometimes they transfer surprisingly well. Sometimes they're even better! If they really build the "world" of Wicked well, in terms of sets and costumes (I'm talking HUGE sweeping sets and epic location shoots) then it might manage to have the same level of spectacle. People might feel cheated if there's too much obvious CGI.
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Post by fluxcapacitor on May 20, 2021 8:16:31 GMT
I think also... they've never needed a movie. They've never had to push for it too much because the musical is such a huge hit, still selling well and has had many international productions. The Wicked "brand" has stood on its own two feet for so many years now that adding a movie to the mix may upset the already-successful apple cart. Although yes, the piece as it stands is more theatrical than cinematic. Although you could really say that about most musicals and sometimes they transfer surprisingly well. Sometimes they're even better! If they really build the "world" of Wicked well, in terms of sets and costumes (I'm talking HUGE sweeping sets and epic location shoots) then it might manage to have the same level of spectacle. People might feel cheated if there's too much obvious CGI. The show doesn't need a movie, but you can bet your arse that Hollywood producers have been pushing for one - they see it from the opposite angle to what you describe above - i.e. "the musical is such a huge hit, still selling well and had many international productions, so the "brand" is a guaranteed money maker"! It needs a little bit more presence for Dorothy as you say, but I don't think it needs much - and I'd hope they'd find a way of doing it that doesn't break the flow of the witches' story. For example, they could start the movie with a traditional recapping of Dorothy's story from her point of view, explaining the key points about her interactions with the witch, and then "rewind" to the beginning. With certain rights they could even use footage from the 1939 film for the recap. Get it narrated by Idina Menzel (presumably but not explicitly as an older Elphie) to tick off her cameo and end the narration with a reworking of the original tagline "But so much happened before Dorothy dropped in..." Reverse the shot of the house falling from the original movie, cue Wicked Overture. I'll get my hat. |
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Post by FairyGodmother on May 20, 2021 9:21:49 GMT
Another problem with adding Dorothy in means you lose the "goodness, I misunderstood that when I only had one side of the story" that Wicked exploits.
It relies on you knowing the Wizard of Oz fairly well, but not having thought about the 'gaps'. Once you start cutting them together, there are no gaps!
You can no longer be entirely on Dorothy's side in one film, and Elphaba's in the other.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 20, 2021 11:59:10 GMT
I really like the fact that the references to Dorothy are fleeting, as if we’ve just arrived a few seconds too late and missed her. And the bucket of water scene at the end, with the silouhette of her with the pigtails. Hilarious!
Don’t show Dorothy in the film!
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Post by FairyGodmother on May 21, 2021 17:01:03 GMT
The lion too. I'm not good with CGI animals — I'm already not looking forward to the winged monkeys! Although given the pace this is moving at, I'll probably have time to get over my fears.  |
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Post by inthenose on Oct 27, 2021 17:43:05 GMT
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Post by danb on Oct 27, 2021 18:10:24 GMT
This could be great news for the casting. They’ll want to cast this big. Surely Harry Styles is still a shoo-in for Fiyero? Streep for Morrible? Jason Manford for the Wizard? (I jest). MT pros for the witches.
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Post by WireHangers on Oct 27, 2021 22:06:50 GMT
This could be great news for the casting. They’ll want to cast this big. Surely Harry Styles is still a shoo-in for Fiyero? Streep for Morrible? Jason Manford for the Wizard? (I jest). MT pros for the witches. Wonder who James Corden will play? No, but seriously. I’d love to see Helen Mirren or Olivia Colman as Morrible. |
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Post by danb on Oct 27, 2021 22:23:54 GMT
I have the FBI on speed dial. Corden is to be arrested and incarcerated if he comes within 50 miles of the set.
Edit: should it be SAS if it’s filming in London?
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Post by nisev on Nov 5, 2021 1:21:08 GMT
Big News!:   |
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