What They Say About Hugh

[birchie]

Another poll ladies (& gents?)...this one is classic hollywood physique.
I voted an embarrassing number of times to move Hugh into second place ahead of Arnold. Sorry Arnold fans but I don't consider his body classic...more of an aberration to me. It will take all of you to get him past Van Damme who does have a good body but I think Hugh's is better...impartial opinion of course!

When you vote you see the results and at the bottom is a return to poll link. When you click it the names in the poll get rearranged each time. The first time I did it I thought they removed his name so I couldn't vote again! Have fun!
health.india.com/fitness/arnold-schwarzenegger-brad-pitt-or-hugh-jackman-who-has-the-classic-hollywood-physique/
Sue

[jo]

This LA Times article is really a tribute to the many talents of Mickey Rooney --

www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-mickey-rooney-dies-rare-performer-20140407,0,5306421.story#axzz2yGOAh2pg


But somewhere in the feature, there is mention that Hugh Jackman could be a slight possibility of inheriting the mantle.

Mickey Rooney dies: Why we won't see a performer like him again


By Steven Zeitchik
April 7, 2014, 6:07 p.m.



Many of the obituaries and appreciations for Mickey Rooney pay deference to his diverse skills: singing, family comedies, musicals, dramas and even the movement to TV, all while being a serious box-office draw. As my colleague Kenneth Turan wrote, few now comprehend “how large this man loomed over the American film landscape.”


Much of that is the function of his enthusiastic on-screen persona — the word irrepressible comes up a lot. But even as that Andy Hardy-ish appeal faded in postwar America, Rooney was able to move with it, or at least find surprising relevance, segueing to other genres and modes with a certain ease. He could do musicals with Judy Garland (“Babes in Arms”) but also wartime drama (“The Human Comedy”), character acting (“The Bold and the Brave,” “Requiem for a Heavyweight”), family uplift (“The Black Stallion”), TV melodrama (“Bill”) and even Shakespeare (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”).

In doing so, he has proved himself the rare five-tool player, the entertainer with the rare set of skills who can do pretty much anything if a camera is involved.

PHOTOS: Mickey Rooney: 1920-2014

It’s so rare these days, in fact, that it verges on the extinct.

That’s in part, of course, because Rooney was a singular talent and a tireless worker who was willing to put in the time many decades after most actors would have traded script pages for a golf scorecard.

But it’s also because the entertainment world we inhabit is so different — more limiting, more ghettoized. You hear it in the run-up to the Oscars every year: Where’s the all-purpose host, the personality who is a bona fide movie star but can also can sing, dance and joke, who has gravitas but also is comedic and fun? The man who, as was often said of Rooney, can simply put on a show?

He doesn’t exist.

We talk lately about TV and film and the fluidity between them. But that’s versatility of a very limited sort. For one thing, musicals are almost non-existent, so the chance for anyone to hone or showcase those kinds of skills are limited. (Neil Patrick Harris and Ellen DeGeneres come closest, though neither of them is exactly a huge box-office star.) And even if TV and film are close, comedy and drama are kept at more of an arm’s length than ever.

REACTION: Social media lights up at news of Rooney's death

The fact is, most actors these days are pigeonholed: When a comic personality wants to do a drama, he or she has to fight for the chance because a financier or studio executive would say her currency is “lost” outside of comedy. And there are so many fewer films made that even when actors do get a shot, they are unlikely to get another one. (As a top box-office star who can also do music and (some) comedy, Hugh Jackman is perhaps a slight bearer of the mantle, though many aspects Rooney pulled off easily, such as grittier character acting, have yet to be proved by Jackman.)

On the other hand, with MGM cranking out as many movies as it did, and with the marketing segmentation that drops actors in different boxes nowhere near what it is now, Rooney was able to do it all.

The actor’s passing after such a long and rich life is worth a moment of reflection — a lament, even. That should be for Rooney, but also for an entertainment world that is unlikely to allow for another.

ALSO:


www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-mickey-rooney-dies-rare-performer-20140407,0,5306421.story#ixzz2yGQOvW1U

*The kind of movies that are generally produced these days fall into specific genres - and the genres do compartmentalize actors and do not necessarily reflect the limitation in the actors's talents.

*Odd that Hugh is cited for comedy ( unless you consider family-friendly movies such as Real Steel as such...or romantic comedies like Kate and Leopold). Yet the author also ignores his ability to entertain and host a show ( Oscars 2009 and Tonys 2004...or the one-man show for the actors fund in October 2013 which was a big Broadway hit earlier)! Movie musicals where all those talents are needed -- triple-threat, comedy, entertain -- are no longer favored genres for movie musicals. So, the comparison may not be really valid. I wonder if GREATEST SHOWMAN is the kind of project that may produce the kind of musical entertainment the author has in mind?

*True, Hugh is being cited notably only more recently for his dramatic talent ( Les Miserables, maybe some aspects of The Wolverine, and Prisoners) but he can extend his reach to other types of dramatic fare. But isn't his Oscar nomination ( a strong candidate, probably second only to DDLewis) for his role in the dramatic musical Les Miserables already an acknowledgement that Hugh can do drama! On stage, maybe this author never saw Hugh in A Steady Rain?

*One genre where Mickey had never played leads ( maybe some character acting, but not as lead) are action movies such as war dramas and westerns and even the likes of the Bond franchise. These days, action movies are more of contemporary thrillers or a saga like Australia and of course the superhero genre - this is where Hugh has established his forte in film.

*Hugh is a classic leading man type -- so there are other roles that are waiting to be portrayed. We will also be able to judge whether the charisma extends to villainy and anti-heroes when we see his work in PAN.

*Not to detract from Mickey Rooney's legendary reputation, but did he do serious dramatic acting on stage? Or live musical theatre ? I am not well-versed on his entire repertoire.


People are just starting to appreciate what Hugh Jackman can do as a performer of the cinema and the theatre! His talents and versatility are now often cited in his resumes. Who knows how far they can expand his career and reputation!

Jo

[mamaleh]

I don't believe Rooney ever did dramatic acting on stage, but he did make his Broadway debut in the greatly successful burlesque/variety musical SUGAR BABIES in 1979. He also filled in for a time as Keith Carradine's father in THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES in the early '90s.

Back to the article, I get annoyed when I read things like "yet to be proved." The writer is obviously unfamiliar with the "grittier" roles Hugh has played, such as Tom/Tomas/Tommy in THE FOUNTAIN or more recently, Keller Dover in PRISONERS. Yes, those are more leads and not strictly "character" roles, but they have a rough-hewn intensity nonetheless.

Ellen

[jo]

Hugh's versatility is becoming more and more widely acknowledged, even by fellow actors --

www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/9917393/Luke-Evans-misses-out-on-romance-in-Hobbit

These words from one of the HOBBIT stars, Luke Evans --

But with a background in musical theatre, Evans confesses he never really dreamt of being onscreen, yet has nevertheless found himself in big-budget productions such as Clash of the Titans, The Three Musketeers and a spin-off of The Lord of the Rings.

It's a career trajectory Evans says has been made possible by other "crossover" stars such as Hugh Jackman.

"I can only look at that man and admire his ability to do all the different forms of acting," he says.

"There are similarities, and I'm very happy there are."

[jo]

This very long article on Hugh Jackman was written right before the Oscars in 2013.

www.denofgeek.us/movies/hugh-jackman/69918/hugh-jackman-movie-star-song-and-dance-man-mutant-superhero

It is well worth reading the biographical feature and its focus eventually on what seems to be the growing perception of Hugh's career -- his versatility. Save for a few minor errors, it is a very good impression of Hugh's rise to stardom.

XMEN and Kate and Leopold...and of course The Boy from Oz -- all solidified his very wide fanbase now! And it seems Real Steel allowed him to reach even the prep/kindergarten set ...Age, gender, whatever persuasion, even robots

One person who is never mentioned -- while Bryan Singer always get the acknowledgment for giving Hugh his big break, it was really producer Lauren Shuler Donner ( who first saw him OKLAHOMA!) who rallied for Hugh's casting as Wolverine. Singer was initially reluctant to cast him ( Hugh had to undergo some 8-9 auditions before being given the part), Lauren has been a fangirl of the Hugh talent and charisma right from the start! Ironically, Singer is now almost enamoured ( or is it FOX itself?) to see Wolverine play a central role in current XMEN movies - or he just thinks that Hugh's star power ensures box office gold for the franchise?

Another talent scout not always mentioned is the role that Trevor Nunn played in his career. Not only Hugh did learn more of the theatrical ropes from one of British theatre's most creative directors, but Trevor Nunn cast him in Sunset Boulevard ( the first sung-through musical for Hugh, probably paving the way for the discipline required for Les Miserables) and OKLAHOMA!...It was also Trevor Nunn's foresight and hard work which enabled the filming of the RNT revival of the landmark American musical-- which eventually was released for international viewing and references ( it is used in many schools who aim at a school revival of Oklahoma!).

Two more people who recognized the tremendous talent of Hugh Jackman were the late Gerry Schoenfeld ( Mr. Broadway himself!) and Hugh's longtime agent, Patrick Whitesell ( who did a great job in helping Hugh get the part of Jean Valjean!).

Of course, this article was written before PRISONERS was released ( which many people say should have gotten Hugh another Oscar nod) - that movie has further solidified the recognition that Hugh can handle strong dramatic roles with such an impact.

Hopefully, we will see more and more projects that will further magnify the talent and appeal that a few had seen early on but which are now only being more and more widely acknowledged!


Jo

[jo]

Giuliana Rancic at Westfield Doncaster, Styling Suite

Giuliana Rancic, E! News anchor, Fashion Police co-host and a feature on every red carpet that matters, knows some people are a drag to interview, nothing but graft, while others make those minutes a joy. Rancic herself, a special guest of Westfield Doncaster on Monday, falls firmly into the second category.

What makes a good red carpet interview? ''Be open and candid,'' she said. ''Here's the thing, it's Hollywood, and sometimes these actors take themselves too seriously. Have fun, tell people something new about yourself. Sometimes they forget that the people at home have real problems. Try to bring some joy, some laughter … You know who I love? Hugh Jackman. He is a perfect example of someone who knows, have fun; he'll sing with you, he'll dance with you.''


Read more: www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/sophie-lowe-and-rone-attend-uniqlo-launch-at-emporium-melbourne-20140419-36xvf.html#ixzz2zLyZddnR

[jo]

Whenever Hugh is in a stage musical, he loses a lot of weight, such as when he was in Back on Broadway. But director/choreograher Warren Carlyle adds more comments than Hugh simply shedding the pounds --

The show's director and choreographer, Warren Carlyle, explains that it's no wonder Jackman is melting away the pounds: he's a consummate performer, one that invests everything he has in each project.

“He dances like Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire. He’s in that kind of category. He’s just like this great leading man who has rhythm and who can really, really move,” Carlyle says for the same publication.

[jo]

This article from The Hollywood Reporter is all about Ellen Page and her personal life and career, but somewhere there is mention of her regard for Hugh --

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/x-mens-ellen-page-life-701414?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_breakingnews&utm_campaign=THR%20Breaking%
20News_2014-05-07%2009%3A00%3A00%20America%2FLos_Angeles_knordyke

"It was so fun to go back and be with everybody again." She delights in the sweet antics of stars Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen and says of Jackman, with whom she shares the majority of her scenes, "You know how they say things like 'the nicest guy in Hollywood'? But it's true!"

In a way, it will be sad if DAYS OF FUTURE PAST will be the last movie that this Original Team( OT cast) will have played in an XMEN movie together.


Jo

[JH4HJ]

Michael Fassbender has sung Hugh Jackman’s praises after working with him on X-Men: Days of Future Past

“Hugh is an amazing man, very, very generous, both as an actor and as a human being.”
Asked if he had any dirt on the Aussie Wolverine hunk from the set of the film, Fassbender said: “That is impossible.”

Full article

[jo]

I remember Samantha Barks seemed like a fan of Hugh, but I've not come across how she articulates fully her admiration of her colleague in Les Miserables --

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/les-miserables-star-samantha-barks-400546

THR: Did you get any tips from your castmembers on how to deal with it?

Barks: They’re all so humble, so they very rarely would offer a tip. But I watched and learned. I watched someone like Hugh Jackman, who is the most calm, level-headed, wonderful human being I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. And then "action," and this incredible character bursts out from his soul, and I just found him fascinating to learn from, and I feel like that’s the way it should be done.

[natalieavery]

Some interpretations of Hugh's performances or looks make me laugh. Nevertheless, I love that people are finally waking up to the fact that Hugh is a major multi-talented and diversified performer. It's about time. I've noticed quite a few of these kinds of articles lately about his changing looks/characters throughout his film/stage history thus far. Well done Hugh. We're proud of you.

moviepilot.com/posts/2014/06/19/hugh-jackman-s-insane-movie-looks-a-rundown-from-bald-to-bearded-1521829?lt_source=external,manual#!03C8V

[jo]

Not really about what somebody said about Hugh's qualities...but an old acquaintance ( Jason Clarke) who is now in the next sequel of "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" recalls their first day together at the Actor's Centre ( the acting school in Sydney where Hugh studied for a year, after he finished his BA at UofTechnology and before he went to WAAPA )

www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/time-for-ape-man-jason-clarke-to-step-out-of-the-shadows-20140708-zsyvs.html

After moving to Sydney, he dropped in on a class at The Actor’s Centre, where he met Hugh Jackman. “Hugh and I walked in off the street on the same day and I remember there was an exercise where we had to do a private moment or something that made us scared in a group and Hugh’s was a nude hug,” he says with a grin.

Jo

[mamaleh]

Something tells me that didn't really scare him.

Ellen

[alma]

I agree, Ellen.

Alma

[jo]

In this Christmastime interview of Stephanie J. Block by Susan Blackwell, Stephanie talks about Hugh at 5'36" --

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJIfjrrpQ9s


Jo

[jo]

A Hollywood long time media personality, Ross King, who is releasing a book ( "Taking Hollywood") on "the smoke and mirrors illusion" at LaLaLand talks about Hugh --

www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity/scots-tv-showbiz-expert-ross-4044069

Ross has also got pretty good at spotting the up and coming stars who’ve got the “it” factor.

“I went to see the London stage version of Oklahoma in 1999 because a friend was in it.” he says. “It was brilliant and when I saw her after the show I said ‘The guy who plays the lead has really got the Ready Brek glow.’

“She said ‘Funny you should say that... today he got a call to say Dougray Scott has overrun in a movie and can’t make his role in The X-Men, so my friend’s got it.’ I had to look his name up in the programme, some guy called Hugh Jackman.

“Hugh really is the most wonderful guy to interview - like George Clooney – they’ve paid their dues, both got a bit of a twinkle in the eye and are happy to have a laugh at their own expense.

[jo]

What she says about Hugh


www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/opinion-chance-encounters-of-the-celebrity-kind/story-fnihsr9v-1227042294467?nk=f739bbdc8a3fd7cbb678916d3cb3f0ce


You may want to read the whole story to put into proper context the encounter with Hugh.

Opinion: Chance encounters of the celebrity kind

Frances Whiting
The Sunday Mail (Qld)
August 31, 2014 12:00AM


When we meet people who we don’t know, but think we do, it makes us say and do things we wouldn’t normally dream of.


SO, I was in a coffee shop last week and a woman at the next table was looking at me with the kind of intense gaze I have come to know precedes one of two things.

One, the person is about to say: “Excuse me, but are you Frances Whiting?’’ or two, the person is about to say: “Excuse me, but do you know the back of your dress is tucked into your underpants?’’

In this case, however, the woman didn’t say either of those things.

Instead, she leant towards me and said in a very confidential voice, “Excuse me, but do you know you look a lot like Frances Whiting?’’

Now, this has never happened to me before. Oh, there’s been plenty of times I’ve been mistaken for another person – Jennifer Hawkins mostly, but this was the first time I had been told I looked a lot like me.

And being a new experience, I wasn’t exactly sure how to respond.

Part of me wanted to throw my head back and say dramatically “That is because it is I, Madam!”, and the other part of me wanted to say “Gosh, thank you, that is such a compliment because she is just so attractive, isn’t she? I only wish I really did look like her!”.

Instead I sort of whispered back “Actually, I am Frances Whiting’’, and she said “Really?’’ and I said “I’m fairly sure’’, and then she looked really embarrassed, and I wanted to tell her about the time I met Hugh Jackman to make her feel better, but she had already paid for her coffee and fled.

The thing is, when we meet people who we don’t know, but think we do – and it happens to all of us for all sorts of reasons – it makes us say and do things we wouldn’t normally dream of...





We’ve all done it, and in my case I was standing in line at a coffee shop in Sydney waiting to order, when a man came and stood behind me and I glimpsed him out of the corner of my eye, and turned around because he looked vaguely familiar. Then I said to him in a highly authoritative voice: “You’re Hugh Jackman.’’

Yes, I did. I told Hugh Jackman he was Hugh Jackman.

Luckily for me, it was indeed Hugh Jackman who is, as we all know, one of the nicest men on the planet, because he just smiled at me and said “Thank you, because I have been wondering.’’

So having told Hugh Jackman, and everyone else in the coffee shop exactly who he was, I did what the woman in the coffee shop did when she mistook me for me, and fled.

[jo]

On the opposite side, the funniest story ( narrated by Hugh himself) about not being recognized was the story of the ticket scalper who approached a man walking towards the Broadhurst and offered him a ticket to see Back on Broadway with Hugh Jackman. The man walking towards the theatre must have been laughing when he said " But I AM HUGH JACKMAN!").

LOL - if I were the scalper, I would have asked him to sign the ticket on the portion which would be left to the ticketbuyer and seen the show himself


Jo

[mamaleh]

I found this report-denial story so ludicrous that I actually laughed aloud. It was obviously never a real story to begin with. Must have been a very slow news day.

www.gossipcop.com/hugh-jackman-marriage-problems-deborra-lee-furness-divorce-split/


Ellen

[JH4HJ]

How Hugh Jackman bounced his way through Tonys opening

As told by: Choreographer Warren Carlyle:
Hugh and I had been researching numbers. We were looking at classic stuff and There’s this amazing clip on YouTube of Bobby Van “Take Me to Broadway” from Small Town Girl in 1953. It just appeared to me, and I think to Hugh too. Hugh is a very joyous, exuberant performer and the joy of this bouncing, the joy of Bobby Van bouncing through the neighborhood, seemed to be a really fun idea. Then Glenn Weiss, the director, took it one step further and said what if we do it all in one shot? What if we never cut? What if we got a steadicam and did it all in one take? I think what Glenn did with it was actually really really dynamic and crazy and the kind of challenge that Hugh loves. He loves the physical challenge. Every day he trained to be able to jump for four minutes. . .

. . . I can’t really speak for Hugh, but I think he just wanted to have fun. Hugh loves to entertain. He loves a challenge and it seemed like a perfect fit. It was the kind of physical challenge that he just loves, and he got to tip his hat and say, hey, this thing’s really special. We’re going to celebrate that too and do something a little unusual this year. And for us it felt like all bets are off this is not your traditional opening number this is going to be something a little bit different. Whenever Hugh hosts it’s a little different. The fact that the opening number could take place in the aisle with the audience. He’s incredible with a live audience. It was really fun.

Full article, with link to a video of his performance

[mamaleh]

Hugh has a fan in Broadway actor James Snyder, whose performances in CRY-BABY THE MUSICAL and IF/THEN I greatly enjoyed. In fact, Hugh's a role model:

playbill.com/news/article/cue-a-if-then-star-james-snyder-on-carousel-kissing-idina-and-his-revealing-american-idiot-audition-338528

And his favorite showtune is "Soliloquy" from CAROUSEL.

Ellen

[jo]

Hugh Jackman is the 13th most admired man in the UK! Most admired is theoretical physicist/cosmologist Stephen Hawking ( who was portrayed in the biopic Theory of Everything by Eddie Redmayne, for which Eddie is currently an Oscar nominee).



Here's the original announcements ( and survey methodology), including World Most Admired and for certain countries -- Hugh also scores in the top 10 in Russia.

yougov.co.uk/news/2015/01/30/most-admired-2015/



I wonder if he is aware of this?



Jo

[jo]

From an article re Chris Claremont's backstage visit with Hugh at The River --

comicbook.com/2015/02/05/x-men-writer-chris-claremont-visits-hugh-jackman-for-his-play/

Claremont has made a cameo appearance in a couple of the X-Men films (X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: Days of Future Past), and has struck up a friendship with Jackman over the years. At a Wolverine exhibit at the Museum of Cartoon and Comic Art in New York, Claremont even named Jackman as one of the most important creative forces in the character’s history.

[hughmanity]

We also think he's "magic"!

blog.muchmusic.com/trust-us-you-want-to-see-who-we-have-deemed-worthy-of-the-magic-mike-stage/

[jo]

Matthew Vaughn is interviewed about Kingsman. He talks how Colin Firth is able to handle the physical aspects of the role...and also speaks a lot about musicals ( which he says he might want to do next). Somewhere he talks about Hugh Jackman's physical abilities --

www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=59219

Speaking to that, Colin Firth is a hard-core ass-kicker in this movie. I'd have thought he'd be past that point in his career.

Well, what point in his career would you think he would have been an ass-kicker?


I don't know. My introduction to him was "Shakespeare in Love," and not then.

Not then. Not any of it, really! Except maybe "Tumbledown," a TV series where he played a soldier. That was the fun of this. I wanted to cast David Niven ["The Pink Panther"] in a spy movie, the modern-day David Niven. For me, he is David Niven in the sense of him being that British gentleman.

You can learn how to kick ass on a film. It's not real. He did six months of training. You just have to learn the physicality of it. Like, he did a musical, he can sing or dance. That's why I think Hugh Jackman is great as Wolverine, because he's a brilliant singer and dancer as well. So he understands [finding the rhythm of a fight scene], and Aaron Taylor-Johnson is a trained dancer, so he learned action in kick-ass 9snaps his fingers] in two seconds...

I also made a similar observation earlier how Hugh's experience with both action movies and musical material as well as a natural athletic ability give him the physicality to handle either type of roles very well. When he did that enormous fight scene with the sword-wielding father of Mariko in The Wolverine, his rhythm almost had a dancer's mark -- excellent moves! And look at how good THE CONFRONTATION in Les Miserables turned out -- fighting and singing at the same time, in a difficult scene of emotional and physical conflict!


Btw, the above interview is fascinating in how Matthew Vaughn ( he directed XMEN:First Class) talks candidly about musicals, including some candid comments about Broadway musicals and Hollywood musicals. He also talks about Taron Egerton's talent ( co-star in Kingsman and Hugh's next co-star in Eddie the Eagle, which is being produced by Matthew Vaughn).

If he does a musical for a next project, will Hugh be on top of his casting list

Jo