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Post by jo on Nov 22, 2012 19:17:43 GMT -5
As screenings will soon start for the awards community, we may want to segregate the various reactions ( no reviews allowed till December 11 - we can have a separate thread for Official Reviews) from advance screenings. The first one came from UK Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye who was invited to a special screening for the cast and crew of the movie -- www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2237100/Les-Miserables-Why-Hugh-Jackmans-proud-singing-Les-Miserables-.html************************************************************************ Why Hugh Jackman's proud of his singing in Les Miserables...
By Baz Bamigboye
PUBLISHED:22:36 GMT, 22 November 2012| UPDATED: 23:09 GMT
Hugh Jackman said the film of Les Miserables would revolutionise the way people viewed movie musicals.
The actor plays Jean Valjean in Tom Hooper’s stirring film version of the award-winning musical by Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil and Herbert Kretzmer.
When I spoke to him, during filming at Pinewood Studios, he explained why. ‘We sing as we act, rather than lay down songs weeks in advance,’ he said. ‘It makes it much more realistic — particularly with a gritty story like this.’
People lucky enough to be invited to private screenings of Les Miserables this week told me that having the actors sing live, as it were, added a grippingly emotional intensity to the picture (which is already pretty emotional!).
One showing yesterday in central London left the audience moved to tears.
Viewers I spoke to praised the film’s ‘breathtaking’ appearance, and the performance of stars, including Jackman and Anne Hathaway.
They revealed that Russell Crowe, as Inspector Javert, had a scene-stealing moment halfway through which allowed cinema-goers to have a quiet sob.
People who caught yesterday’s screening seemed equally impressed by the younger actors, mentioning Eddie Redmayne’s knockout Marius, Samantha Barks’ moving Eponine, Amanda Seyfried’s touching Cosette, and Aaron Tveit’s enjoyable Enjolras.
And Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter bring the house down as the Thenardiers, unsurprisingly.
I have seen Les Miserables, too, but I’m not allowed to write about it yet, alas.
The fact it’s even ready this far ahead of its January 11 UK opening date (its world premiere is in London on December 5) is a tribute to director Hooper’s tenacity (and that of producers Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan, Cameron Mackintosh and Debra Hayward).
Les Miserables will be a major Oscar and Bafta contender.
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Post by jo on Nov 22, 2012 19:30:36 GMT -5
Aaron Tveit's manager, Elin Flak has tweeted her personal impressions on the screening.
Please read from the bottom for the proper sequence ---
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Post by jo on Nov 23, 2012 16:10:03 GMT -5
From the Lincoln Center screening --
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Post by birchie on Nov 23, 2012 16:31:17 GMT -5
From the Lincoln Center screening -- OMG! Can I be any more anxious to see this movie??!!?? NO! I'm so jealous of all the people having these screening opportunities. Can't wait to hear more of the reactions. Sue |
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Post by Jamie on Nov 23, 2012 18:10:22 GMT -5
My favorite tweet so far: Dave Karger @davekarger
Hugh Jackman has a great shot to bump out Denzel or Joaquin in the Best Actor race. His singing is quite impressive.
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Post by jo on Nov 23, 2012 18:43:36 GMT -5
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Post by birchie on Nov 23, 2012 20:08:49 GMT -5
Here's a Hollywood Reporter article on the first screening today: www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/les-miserables-wows-first-screening-393758'Les Miserables' Wows First Audience in New York,
Clearly Headed for Oscars (Analysis)
4:09 PM PST 11/23/2012 by Scott Feinberg
The star-studded musical is the first film directed by British filmmaker Tom Hooper since he won the best director Oscar for 'The King's Speech' two years ago.
Universal's highly-anticipated awards contender Les Miserables, the first film directed by British filmmaker Tom Hooper since he won the best director Oscar for The King's Speech two years ago, screened for the first time on Friday afternoon at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. No movie musical has seriously contended for the best picture Oscar since Chicago (2002) won it a decade ago, though several have tried, including The Phantom of the Opera (2004) and Nine (2009). But, judging by the loud applause that followed every one of this one's big numbers -- which were performed by Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Samantha Barks, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen, respectively -- and the raucous standing ovation that the film and its key talent received once its credits started to roll, that could certainly change this year. At the very least, Les Mis joins Argo, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook in the top echelon of this year's contenders, and puts Universal back in the thick of the race for the first time since Frost/Nixon (2008) was in contention four years ago.
our editor recommends
At about 3 p.m. EST, Hooper came out before the packed house to introduce the film, and told the crowd that he had only finished working on the film at 2 a.m. last night. "You are the very first people to see the film," he said to cheers. He then noted that The King's Speech had begun its theatrical rollout on Thanksgiving weekend two years ago, and that last night, at his first Thanksgiving dinner, everyone was asked what they were grateful for. He said that he can now say, "I'm grateful that I finished it [the film]... I'm grateful to the thousands of people who have been on this journey, particularly the wonderful cast... and I'm grateful to Victor Hugo [who wrote the book upon which the Broadway play upon which the film is based], who unfortunately can't be with us. When the film finished roughly two hours later, Hooper was joined on-stage by several unannounced special guests -- Hathaway, Redmayne, Seyfried, and Barks -- for a Q&A moderated by Columbia University's Annette Insdorf.
Journalists in attendance at the screening had to agree not to review the film, but can offer general reactions. Mine:
**Jackman has finally found a screen role custom-made for and worthy of his talents.
**Hathaway, a Hollywood darling since she blossomed from an ugly duckling into a princess in her breakthrough role, is probably now the frontrunner in the best supporting actress category. Her screen time is brief, but she makes an indelible impression, particularly during the showstopping "I Dreamed a Dream number."
**Crowe, who was the only principal cast member whose singing was not prominently featured in the film's first trailer and featurette, sparking concerns in some circles that he must have struggled, actually acquits himself quite nicely.
**Barks, who played the same role in London's West End production of Les Mis that she plays in this film, is very good and could join Hathaway in this year's relatively thin best supporting actress category, but that is not a sure thing.
Check back shortly for more. This post will be updated momentarily. To be continued I guess.  Sue |
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Post by Jamie on Nov 23, 2012 20:11:27 GMT -5
He expanded on the Jackman portion of the above ***Jackman has finally found a screen role custom-made for and worthy of his talents as a great physical specimen who can sing as well as anyone who can also act. He even lost 30 pounds in order to play Valjean as a prisoner. But this year's best actor Oscar race couldn't be more competitive, and, despite giving a career-best screen perf (you'll have to forgive him for Australia), he's no sure-thing for a nom -- remember that Chicago's lead male Richard Gere was snubbed the year that his film won everything. That being said, if he hits the campaign trail hard then his unequaled off-screen charm should put him over the top***
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Post by birchie on Nov 23, 2012 20:19:48 GMT -5
He expanded on the Jackman portion of the above ***Jackman has finally found a screen role custom-made for and worthy of his talents as a great physical specimen who can sing as well as anyone who can also act. He even lost 30 pounds in order to play Valjean as a prisoner. But this year's best actor Oscar race couldn't be more competitive, and, despite giving a career-best screen perf (you'll have to forgive him for Australia), he's no sure-thing for a nom -- remember that Chicago's lead male Richard Gere was snubbed the year that his film won everything. That being said, if he hits the campaign trail hard then his unequaled off-screen charm should put him over the top*** I was just coming to post the revised version. He updated several parts but I guess people will see when they click on the link and Hugh is the important part anyway. ;D Sue |
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Post by birchie on Nov 23, 2012 21:12:30 GMT -5
I don't know how long this will stay up but it's someone's thoughts on the screening in NY today. He also says that one of the songs was cut but he didn't say which song: youtu.be/6FElj9Hf4oE |
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Post by birchie on Nov 24, 2012 10:11:30 GMT -5
Some tweets from a happy Russell and a very enthusiastic fan who was at the screening: Russell Crowe @russellcrowe
I saw Les Miserables tonight. I am so grateful to be in that ensemble led by a remarkable performance by Hugh Jackman.Valjean is AWESOME
Russell Crowe @russellcrowe
Hugh,spectacular, Anne Hathaway impossible, Eddie Redamayne,Amanda S, Sammy B,Helena B-C & Sacha B-C,Aaron,Daniel & company,amazing. #lesmis
Russell Crowe @russellcrowe
Factory girls,workers,coppers and STUDENTS...holy of all things holy, there's magic in the job, well done #lesmis
Russell Crowe @russellcrowe
Simon Hayes,you are on here somewhere.What an achievement man, miraculous in the environments...much respect brother #lesmis
elisa g schneider @corellianjedi2
One Day More. It makes me want to fight in a revolution. Fantastic. #LesMis
elisa g schneider @corellianjedi2
Eddie Redmayne's voice. To die for, IMO. Sing to me please. #LesMis
elisa g schneider @corellianjedi2
Mr. Hooper said he'd finished the film at 2AM this morning (er... Yesterday morning). Wow. #LesMis
elisa g schneider @corellianjedi2
The Thenardiers were hilarious. Predictable casting but it worked. Of course. #LesMis
elisa g schneider @corellianjedi2
Gavroche stole the show. So adorable. And heartbreaking. #LesMis
elisa g schneider @corellianjedi2
One of the first films in a while that I haven't felt like I was watching Hugh Jackman. I was watching Jean Valjean. Incredible. #LesMis
from Manhattan, NY
elisa g schneider @corellianjedi2
Writing my thoughts and saving them as drafts while I wait for the train.
from Manhattan, NY
elisa g schneider @corellianjedi2
Amanda Seyfriend was so great as Cosette. Her voice was sweet and well matched with Redmayne's. #LesMis
elisa g schneider @corellianjedi2
Anne Hathaway's "I Dreamed A Dream" was breathtaking; conveyed such emotion. There aren't enough words to describe her performance. #LesMis
from Manhattan, NY
elisa g schneider @corellianjedi2
Eddie Redmayne is amazing. I knew this before but now I'm thoroughly convinced he's the future of film. His performance was perfect. #LesMis
from Manhattan, NY
elisa g schneider @corellianjedi2
I have to go back to Mr. Jackman. He was...brilliant. His performance was the best I've seen from him since Erskineville Kings. #LesMis
elisa g schneider @corellianjedi2
I REALLY enjoyed Russell Crowe's performance. Especially his soliloquy at the end. Fantastically shot and played. #LesMis
elisa g schneider @corellianjedi2
Young Cosette was too adorable. What a darling and an amazing singer! Can't wait to see more of her! #LesMis
elisa g schneider @corellianjedi2
Aaron Tveit shined in #LesMis! Of course, I wish we got more of him but what we saw was him at his best! That voice!!! |
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Post by birchie on Nov 24, 2012 10:14:27 GMT -5
A very nice article from Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood: www.deadline.com/2012/11/oscars-les-miserables-huge-reaction-first-hugh-jackman-interview/Oscars: Universal Unveils ‘Les Miserables’ in NY And LA To Huge Reaction; First Hugh Jackman Interview: “A Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity”
By PETE HAMMOND | Friday November 23, 2012 @ 9:24pm PST
Awards strategists for other horses in the ever-tightening race for Best Picture may not want to hear this but Universal Pictures today may have unleashedLes Miserables the 800-pound-gorilla in the Oscar race. That is, if initial reaction to today’s launch of the much-awaited movie version of the celebrated musical Les Miserables is any indication. Screenings at Alice Tully Hall in New York along with a smaller invite-only unveiling for about 100 people at the 1000-seat Samuel Goldwyn Theatre at The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in Beverly Hills both elicited immediate Oscar talk. Les Mis, one of the few remaining unseen contenders, is now fully in the conversation for real, if not quickly vaunting near or to the top of Best Picture favorites (along with Argo, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook and Life Of Pi).
Almost immediately after the Academy screening this afternoon I got on the phone with star Hugh Jackman in Australia. Shortly afterward its Oscar winning director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) called me as the second of the NY screenings was taking place (we could both hear the applause in the background). Both seemed relieved to have the film, which opens Christmas Day, finally in the race. Universal is wasting no time as Hooper heads to Los Angeles on Saturday to participate in six, count ‘em, six screenings for Guild and Academy members tomorrow and then (along with Jackman) will be travelling to Japan on Sunday. It will be a busy month leading up to the opening but the studio knew it had to get the film out there now since Oscar voting is taking place during the Christmas/New Year’s break this year.
Les MiserablesThe last musical to win Best Picture was Chicago a decade ago and before that there was a 34-year drought between that film and Oliver which took it in 1968. Based on what Hooper, Jackman and cast and crew have wrought Les Mis could be joining that list. It is certainly an instant major contender, a thrilling cinematic realization of the legendary musical that has taken 27 years to reach the screen. Filled with stunning imagery and performances, Les Mis is musically a masterpiece thanks largely to the decision to have the actors sing it live as they were filming rather than pre-recording the songs as is the norm for most, if not all, movie musicals. But bottom line is this is the kind of fully realized triumph that Academy voters traditionally eat up, and it joins a race that has suddenly become one of the most interesting and competitive in years. At the screening Universal held at the Academy, AMPAS President Hawk Koch briefly introduced it and then watched along with Oscar show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron among others. Zadan and Meron were Executive Producers of Chicago and afterwards told me they were very impressed, with Zadan convinced it will receive multiple nominations across the board. I would venture those could include Picture, Actor (Jackman), Supporting Actor (Russell Crowe and/or Eddie Redmayne), Supporting Actress (Anne Hathaway and maybe one of the other women), Director, Screenplay Adaptation, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Film Editing, Sound Mixing and Editing, Song (for Suddenly, the one new tune written for the film) and Makeup. It could rack up quite a total if everything falls into place.
Les MiserablesJackman himself only just saw the film last night and when we spoke just a while ago he was still reeling from the experience. “I just saw it last night (in Sydney). I was pretty speechless I have to say. I think when I saw it in its entirety — I knew intellectually it was a big risk — but when I saw it I said ‘wow, man. This is massive, a big bone to chew on, that one’. I felt so proud to be part of it. And I think for Tom to do this as his first film after King’s Speech is just an incredible kind of testament to him,” he said.
Jackman praised Hooper saying he was a real warrior and didn’t think he got more than three hours sleep a night for the past four months in getting the film ready to be seen. Hooper confirmed it. “I finished it at 2AM yesterday and was already screening it today at Alice Tully Hall. I don’t think I’ve ever been more exhausted. But it’s been an extraordinary response. I think they broke into applause 14 or 15 times during the film. I remember the audience breaking into applause near the end of The King’s Speech but this is taking that to a new level. Towards the end of this film today this weird thing happened like a rustling kind of sound. For a minute I freaked out wondering what’s that odd sound on the soundtrack. I looked around and realized it’s the sound of people crying en masse. Rather extrarodinary for me,” he said.
Although he’s well-known as a song and dance man with a Tony on Broadway and hosting gigs on the Oscars and Tonys this is only the first movie musical for Jackman. “I was waiting for the right one to come along. This is better than I could have imagined myself not only in musical terms but in literary terms. Jean Valjean is such an iconic character and I think that everything I’ve done up until now somehow has fed into it. It was a daunting role, I will admit that to you, but i put everything into it. I know I had that feeling. Russell Crowe and I were talking about it, that you know you’re doing something that is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said adding that he put on 29 pounds during the making of the film because in the early scenes in prison he had to look very gaunt .
“As Tom Hooper said ‘I want people to worry about you. I want your friends to think you’re sick when you see them’. I even went to the point of doing water dehydration before shooting that first scene,” he said. And like all the other actors in the film he auditioned for it, even before Hooper had officially signed on as director. “There was a time when it looked like this might clash with the Wolverine movie but I really wanted to this role so I called Tom and said I had read that he was thinking about doing it but hadn’t yet signed on. I said ‘do you mind if I audition for you anyway in case you decide to do it?’ ” Jackman went to see Hooper in New York and spent three hours going over the role. Hooper knew it was going to be a really difficult challenge finding actors who can sing at the level needed.
“I can tell you having been through the audition process they are very, very rare,” Hooper tells me. “People who can act through singing and sing at that level. The audition with Hugh, which was in May of last year, was an extraordinary moment because that was when I knew I had a movie. I’d go as far to say the movie wouldn’t exist without Hugh Jackman. There wasn’t a second choice. Who else would you cast? I still don’t have a second choice now. He’s a perfect storm of truly global film star, an extraordinary actor, and an extraordinary singer with musical theater pedigree and training. And most importantly for Valjean, Hugh has a kind of innate grace and spirit as a human being and a great kind of moral compass and gentleness that is perfectly suited for this man going on this spiritual journey. In that audition the sheer power of his singing standing just a couple of feet in front of me was formidable. That’s when I knew this was a ‘go’ movie in my head. He took me over the line in three hours.”
Les MiserablesFor Jackman this was the toughest film role he has ever taken on. “It’s a big risk and I’m not surprised it has taken 27 years to take the punt on it, ” he said adding that before he saw the finished film last night he was more nervous than he had ever been in his life. “It’s tough to watch any movie you are in anyway, no matter what the genre, because you always put everything into it. You want it to work. With a musical all those feelings are tripled because you have a lot of elements that come together. I was a very relieved man about 6PM last night.”
Says Hooper: “With The King’s Speech the greatest reward was seeing how it made people feel, the emotion it provoked in people and how it touched them. Coming out of that I wanted to work on something that moves people even more. Also after that success I felt I should take a risk, to stretch myself and go someplace new.” |
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Post by birchie on Nov 24, 2012 10:31:06 GMT -5
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Post by birchie on Nov 24, 2012 10:54:11 GMT -5
Very nice article on an Aussie news site. I love the part where Deb gave him advice on the role: tinyurl.com/d9n5qrmJackman shows his vulnerable side as Jean Valjean in director Tom Hooper's Les Miserable film
IT MIGHT the role for which he is being tipped for an Oscar nomination, but Hugh Jackman spent several weeks working up the courage to watch himself in Les Miserables.
"(Director) Tom (Hooper) offered me the chance to see it about a month ago but I said no, I wanted to see it done - which was me chickening out really,'' he said in Sydney yesterday during a break from the set of The Wolverine.
"I find it very difficult to watch myself sing.''
Jackman was so nervous about his performance as convict-turned-mayor Jean Valjean that he elected to see the hotly anticipated film version of Cameron Mackintosh's groundbreaking musical for the first time on Friday night at a private screening attended by his wife Deborra-lee Furness, his father and stepmother, and a couple of close friends.
"I told them they were only allowed to say good things and that they weren't allowed to talk to me for a few minutes afterwards.''
Jackman's wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, encouraged him to stick with the part of Jean Valjean when he was having doubts, the actor says.
.
Hooper, who won an Oscar in 2011 for The King's Speech, has said that he would have walked away from the project had Jackman turned down the role.
"There was no second choice,'' he told Vogue magazine.
But three weeks before filming began, Jackman says he rang Furness with serious doubts about his ability to pull it off - both in terms of the acting and his character's two-and-a-half octave range.
"She listened and then she said: You can't play Jean Valjean and not feel that. Embrace the vulnerability.''
Jackman says Hooper's decision to film the songs live was nerve-wracking for the entire cast, which includes Russell Crowe as Valjean's arch-nemesis, the police inspector Javert and Anne Hathaway as the story's tragic heroine Fantine.
Almost no changes were made to the vocals in the post-production suite.
Les Miserables is already a hot favourite to pick up Oscar nominations for best film and best director and Hathaway has been a shoe-in for best supporting actress ever since the release of the first trailer, in which she sings heart-wrenching showstopper I Dreamed A Dream.
Jackman faces stiff competition for best actor from the likes of Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln), Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), John Hawkes (The Sessions) and Denzel Washington (Flight).'embrace
But while nobody is underestimating the dramatic heft wielded by his opponents, industry observers and indeed Hopper himself have pointed out that there isn't an actor in Hollywood who can match Jackman's triple threat. |
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Post by jo on Nov 25, 2012 8:08:22 GMT -5
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Post by birchie on Nov 25, 2012 8:35:22 GMT -5
Good luck with your speed reading! They had a couple of trolls drop by, but not as many as I thought they'd have. The screening reaction page...I should say pages, and pages, is pretty daunting. Sue |
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Post by jo on Nov 25, 2012 21:13:09 GMT -5
Someone on BWW saw the screening and posts this analysis --
I think some are still not used to the changes in the singing ( more of acting/singing, maybe coming out as talk-singing style) to come across with the characterization. Did Hooper ( and the actors) decide that to come across with the most artistic acting interpretation and build the character that they should come out as actors first and as singers second ( the issue, I think, was never can they sing it as it was done on stage)? Remember Somewhere Over the Rainbow - the version sung by Hugh on his Back on Broadway concert was different from the iconic original by Judy Garland -- but the message was more to do with the land that is somewhere beyond the horizon, Australia, than the fable Land of Oz of the fantasy world.
Jo
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Post by jo on Nov 25, 2012 22:00:30 GMT -5
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Post by birchie on Nov 26, 2012 8:24:27 GMT -5
Someone on BWW saw the screening and posts this analysis -- <snip> Jo 1. I didn't quite understand this Russell Crowe comment: Opaque, passionless, and misdirected throughout (footsteps on a ledge early on to foretell his end are real embarrassments), Crowe doesn't have a chance here. Is that footsteps line supposed to be part of a scene??? 2. This is disappointing. Plus I haven't really seen anyone rave about the song yet either. "Suddenly", the new song. Oh please. A waste of screen time that stops the show cold. 3. I'm a bit baffled by this part.... BOTTOM LINE? Every musical committed to film is reason for rejoicing. Flaws and all, this one is closer to being a great work than most. Gives new meaning to Thanksgiving weekend. Since their review was weighted more on the negative side including the "ONLY MET EXPECTATIONS" paragraph, which came across as a negative the way they put it, I don't know how they then say "it's closer to a great work than most".  4. last but not least... Remember Somewhere Over the Rainbow - the version sung by Hugh on his Back on Broadway concert was different from the iconic original by Judy Garland -- but the message was more to do with the land that is somewhere beyond the horizon, Australia, than the fable Land of Oz of the fantasy world. Just wanted to add that the version he did is a variation of an arrangement that was originally created by Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole he combined it with What a Wonderful World and it was his biggest success outside of Hawaii. youtu.be/y5JicO2bKec I always loved it and I'm so glad Hugh chose it for his Australia tribute. Sue |
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Post by foxie on Nov 26, 2012 9:57:14 GMT -5
Login with Facebook to see what your friends are readingEnable Social Readingi Mike RyanSenior Entertainment Writer, The Huffington Post GET UPDATES FROM MIKE RYAN Like 300 Will 'Les Misérables' Virgins Enjoy The Movie? Posted: 11/24/2012 I was dreading the film version of Les Misérables. Absolutely dreading it. Do you want to know how much I was dreading Les Misérables? I put the word "dreading" in italics two sentences ago to emphasize just how much I was not looking forward to watching Les Misérables. Sure, I wanted to be there when it screened at Alice Tully Hall on the Upper West Side of Manhattan this past Friday afternoon -- but that's because I knew that, given its Oscar prospects, I would have to see it eventually. Basically, I wanted to get it over with. The truth is, I don't have much against Les Misérables. (Though I do wish someone would decide if the abbreviation should be spelled "Les Miz" or "Les Mis," because I see both. A lot.) It's more that I knew almost nothing about Les Misérables. And I was embarrassed about that. My full knowledge of Les Misérables stems from an episode of Seinfeld called "The Jacket," in which George Costanza repeatedly sings the lyrics to "Master of the House" because they are stuck in his head. (Not surprisingly, the "Master of the House" scene featuring Sacha Baron Cohen as Thénardier and Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thénardier was my favorite in the film, if only because I had heard that song before.) But I had always thought of Les Misérables as something that was (A) kind of complicated, (B) beloved by a lot of people and (C) impossible for me to catch up on at this point in my life. It would be like deciding all of a sudden, "You know, maybe it's time I took up polo." As an aside, I have to be a bit careful here. There's still an embargo on reviews of Les Misérables, but the studio is allowing journalists to write about the event. (I know. I know.) I will say, as a complete novice to the world of Les Miz (I've decided to go with Les Miz, by the way), I thought the film was wonderful and found myself momentarily confused only a handful of times. (This is arguably my fault for being easily confusable.) My personal favorite movie this year is still Argo, but after seeing Les Miz, my gut is telling me that it will beat both Argo and Lincoln for Best Picture. And the talk you may or may not have heard about Anne Hathaway being a shoo-in for Best Supporting Actress as Fantine is true. (Though, again, not knowing anything about Les Miz, I was honestly shocked by how little she is in this movie.) Now, for a caveat to what I just wrote ... I saw Les Miz in the absolute best environment possible. First, the film's director, Tom Hooper, personally introduced the film by informing the audience that we'd be the first people anywhere to see the final version. Plus, cast members Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne and Samantha Barks were there, too. That has an effect on a crowd. And, boy, was this a fun crowd to watch Les Misérables with. I mean, this crowd was as pro-Les Miz as they come. After each musical performance -- which, Hooper explained, were sung as they were being filmed instead of being overdubbed -- the audience applauded. Every performance. Basically, I was surrounded by the hoity-toity Les Miz people I that I used to fear and despise, and -- Les Miz virgin that I am -- I was a bit swept up in their excitement. But! I will say that my lack of knowledge of (and borderline ignorant contempt for) the source material offset the atmosphere. In the end, I found Les Miz to be a pretty wonderful (there's that word again), surprisingly accessible movie. A movie, I should add, that made my editor cry. (Another caveat: he's one of those Les Miz nerds, and he admitted that he would cry before the movie even started.) For the record: I did not cry. If you're like me (and, if so, may God have mercy on your soul) and worry that you won't enjoy Les Miz because you're not familiar with the source material, do not let that keep you away. No longer shall I fear the words Les Misérables -- which will be spoken many, many times during the Academy Awards. From this day forward, when I hear the name Jean Valjean, I will know who that is. And, best of all, I shall forever enjoy a deeper appreciation of "The Jacket" episode of Seinfeld. Mike Ryan is senior writer for Huffington Post Entertainment. You can contact him directly on Twitter. www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ryan/les-miserables-movie_b_2186151.html |
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Post by wildfire on Nov 26, 2012 10:31:42 GMT -5
Wow, I have a lot of catching up to do. I have been without a computer since last Wednesday and just got home last night around midnight. I will be reading quite a bit !
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Post by mamaleh on Nov 27, 2012 8:55:46 GMT -5
Someone at Broadwayworld.com who has seen the movie says that Hugh/Valjean "practically disappears" from the last half of the movie except for the Marius rescue. I hope that's not really the case.
Ellen
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Post by jo on Nov 29, 2012 17:23:19 GMT -5
If you know Les Miserables forwards and backwards -- you know that Valjean will not be part of the early scenes of the Friends of the ABC ( aka the rebel students) - such as The Red and the Black, the early courtship of Marius and Cosette ( Heart Full of Love) including some of Eponine's lament ( On my Own), the Lamarque funeral and the call to an uprising ( Do You Hear the People Sing), the early part of the barricades ( Drink With Me, other recitatives)... Valjean will likely have small scenes in Look Down, the Robbery, maybe even eavesdropping on the courtship, maybe intercepting the letter to Cosette, etc.
But he comes back to sing part of One Day More, then comes back to join the barricade, including saving Enjolras from the sniper and helping them in their fending off the army forces, confronts and forgives Javert, sings Bring Him Home at the barricades/Cafe Musain, escapes with Marius, confesses to Marius and leaves... is rejoined by Cosette and Marius ( some recitatives), dies ( singing the more splendid version of Bring Him Home),and rejoins Fantine and the Bishop...
They have not changed anything much from the stage version ( based on the leaked screenplay) and have actually added more details and facts from the novel, so maybe that BWW poster was not familiar that this was how it was in the stage production. You don't see much of Valjean in the scenes about the rebel students.
Jo
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jo
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Post by jo on Nov 30, 2012 2:01:04 GMT -5
According to Michael Riedel -- Broadway approves!! >  www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/vive_les_miz_way_abuzz_over_film_O4yCxj7K1KHgaZ4aDKxAZP>>>Vive ‘Les Miz’: B’way abuzz over film version
By MICHAEL RIEDEL
Last Updated: 11:37 PM, November 29, 2012
Posted: 10:51 PM, November 29, 2012
At last Broadway has a hit!
The only trouble is, you won’t find it on the stage.
The theater world’s buzzing about Cameron Mackintosh’s “Les Misérables” movie. Not since “Chicago” has a film adaptation of a stage show generated this much excitement around Shubert Alley.
The other night at Sardi’s, a bunch of top producers and theater owners gathered around the second-floor bar to raise a holiday glass. The talk was of two things: how soft business is these days — and the “Les Miz” movie.
“I hear, right from the horse’s mouth, that it’s great,” one producer said.
The horse is, of course, Mackintosh himself, the irrepressible British impresario who’s said to own 75 percent of the stage musical, which has a worldwide gross of more than $3 billion.
Mackintosh has been hopscotching the globe — London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York — talking up the movie, and he’s over the moon about the reception it’s been getting at early screenings. I attended one last week and can report that the audience applauded the big numbers as if they were watching a live stage version — and they stood at the end.
I’ll leave the reviewing to my colleague Lou Lumenick, who’s seeing “Les Miz” next week, but let me put in a good word for Anne Hathaway, who plays Fantine.
Hathaway reportedly lost 25 pounds for the role. She is heart-breakingly thin as this poor woman who’s ground into oblivion by the cruel Paris of Victor Hugo.
And she sings the hell out of “I Dreamed a Dream,” with Herbert Kretzmer’s powerful English lyrics — “But the tigers come at night/With their voices soft as thunder.”
Alain Boublil, the show’s librettist, originally wrote the lyrics in French.
“Anne was reinventing the song from Day One,” says Boublil. “After Patti LuPone and Susan Boyle and the 200 other recordings of the song, she has found a completely new way into it.”
Hathaway has a very simple explanation for how she pulled it off: “I didn’t listen to Patti LuPone until after I sung it!”
The song is all the more powerful because Boublil switched its location. In the stage version, it comes after Fantine’s been let go from the factory. In the movie, it comes after she’s been raped.
“It is in a much more dramatic — and cinematic — place now,” Boublil says. “You feel you are digging inside her head, inside her soul.”
Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, who wrote “Les Misérables” for a Paris production in 1980, began thinking about turning it into a movie 20 years ago. Alan Parker was going to direct and had even made several models of the set. But he got cold feet at the last minute about doing a sung-through movie. A few years later, however, he did “Evita” with Madonna.
“In the cinema, you don’t have an explanation for these things,” says Boublil. “Things go very well one day, and then one day, suddenly, they don’t. But I’m rather glad it didn’t happen then. I don’t think we knew exactly how to do it.”
A key decision director Tom Hooper made, with encouragement from Boublil and Schönberg, was to have the actors sing live during the shooting.
“There was a man in a glass booth on the set playing the piano,” says Boublil. “He was the only person in contact with the performers. They had an invisible earpiece so they could hear him. Because it is so intimate, they are expressing their real feeling, their inner thoughts. There is, I hope, a lack of artifice. You should forget that they are singing.”
Another benefit of delaying the movie 20 years was getting Hugh Jackman, who plays Jean Valjean.
“I always say that when we conceived the idea of turning ‘Les Misérables’ into a musical, Hugh Jackman was 6,” says Boublil. “Twenty years ago, we toyed with using famous actors, but there was no obvious choice. Hugh is the obvious choice.”
As they say in France, d es Oscars pour tout le monde!
michael.riedel@nypost.com <<<
Broadway must also be very proud of Broadway Baby Hugh! It is sad that his good friend Jerry Schoenfeld is no longer around to rejoice about this! Jo |
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Post by jo on Nov 30, 2012 2:16:08 GMT -5
Not exactly comments on the movie but it is thread about how to recreate SUDDENLY from music sheets being auctioned off on eBay -- www.imdb.com/title/tt1707386/board/nest/207611931Follow it till you reach some posts where the music is recreated ( the first part, at least)...follow it till you reach the instrumental version ( which I thought was moving and beautiful). LOL - can you imagine how fanatic Les Mis fans can be?? Jo |
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