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Post by jo on Oct 24, 2013 17:15:14 GMT -5
Maybe it is time to open a thread on the film project, as things seem to be moving further along, based on this exclusive report from The Hollywood Reporter -- www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bill-condon-rewrite-foxs-pt-650669*Has 20th Century Fox greenlit the project? *Hugh is back to producing - this time, for a musical. *There is mention that it is a "contemporary" musical - sounds intriguing, given that this is a biopic and takes place in the past. Is it the musical style that is contemporized ? *Wasn't Anne Hathaway originally linked to the project - I remember reading that the role of Jenny Lind was being written with her in mind. But in the recent interview with Hugh, when the subject of Anne being in the movie was brought up, he said " I don't know about Anne...", which seemed enigmatic. *Michael Gracey is confirmed as still on board - but he has also been announced to be attached to the Elton John biopic that will start filming in the fall of 2014. Will GREATEST SHOWMAN take precedence over that project in terms of filming schedule? Hope what worked for DREAMGIRLS and so some extent, the writing for CHICAGO ( by Bill Condon), will also work for this project. The two men behind DREAMGIRLS ( Marks and Condon) are involved with Hugh on this project. But this is not their first collaboration with Hugh. Marks and Condon were tapped by the AMPAS to produce the 81st Oscars telecast, known as the 2009 Oscars, further known for Hugh Jackman's fantastic Opening Number! Btw, Condon was recently elected to the Board of Governor of the AMPAS. Jo |
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Post by jo on Oct 24, 2013 17:52:23 GMT -5
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Post by carouselkathy on Oct 24, 2013 23:22:50 GMT -5
THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH was a corny extravaganza directed by C.B. DeMille. The acting was awful, and the dialogue was silly (not on purpose). It won the Oscar for best film, probably for the train wreck scene. The whole movie was a train wreck, if you ask me. It had nothing to do with Barnum himself, but was supposedly patterned after the Ringling Brothers, Barnum, and Bailey Circus.
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Post by mamaleh on Oct 24, 2013 23:58:10 GMT -5
My favorite guilty pleasure and all-time cheesiest movie about circus life is THE BIG CIRCUS starring Victor Mature, Red Buttons, Peter Lorre, Gilbert Roland, Kathryn Grant (before she married Bing Crosby) and Rhonda Fleming--with David Nelson (of OZZIE AND HARRIET fame) in a supporting role. My brother and i can practically recite the entire run of silly dialogue and often do at family gatherings.
I have great confidence that Hugh's GREATEST SHOWMAN movie will be of much higher quality.
Ellen
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Post by jo on Oct 25, 2013 0:07:33 GMT -5
It has not dawned on me that this movie could be a big-budget spectacle, until now that the talk of guilty pleasures over circuses has started  Now it makes sense why a big studio is needed to back the project! And Fox did back MOULIN ROUGE, which is acknowleged as having resuscitated the moribund movie musical genre! And why the particular director might have been hired to helm it ( he has been attached to the project for sometime now) -- Another possible clue on the scale of the project - Bill Condon joining the project to revise the script. He was involved in writing CHICAGO and in writing/directing DREAMGIRLS and he did helm the last two Twilight projects ( I know, it is fantasy for tweens/teens/and not-so-young fans) but that means he could handle a large scale script, with spectacles included? Hey, spectacle and music and Hugh Jackman -- how can you go wrong smiley-cool13   Jo |
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Post by jo on Oct 30, 2013 16:27:51 GMT -5
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Post by mamaleh on Oct 30, 2013 19:53:30 GMT -5
What I found so weird was that on its TV show, ET's red carpet emphasis somehow was on the ring Kanye West gave Kim Kardashian?!! And neither of them was present at the ball. What gives? Does everything have to be about that soon-to-be marriage of two overly inflated egos?
Ellen
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Post by caligirl on Oct 31, 2013 0:28:11 GMT -5
The jeweler (Lorraine Schwartz)who helped Kanye design the ring was at the ball. Why the media follows every move of this duo is beyond me.
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Post by jo on Nov 8, 2013 12:50:18 GMT -5
www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bill-condon-tackles-two-circus-654622*There is mention that GREASTEST SHOWMAN is going to be a "contemporary musical" - is this referring to the musical score? I doubt that it is referring to the storyline because it is in effect based on a biopic, which would make it a period piece. *I wonder if the movie musical is going to be quite a lavish production ( there is a mention of Siamese twins, maybe in the shows produced by Barnum)? Plus the director, Michael Gracey, is supposed to be a "wizard" for special effects. *I wonder what the timetable for this movie musical project will be? As he is revising a first draft, that shouldn't take too long, would it? Jo
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Post by jo on Feb 5, 2014 15:34:59 GMT -5
 What a wonderful, wonderful surprise!!!!! *Does this mean that the film project has already been greenlit by FOX? *Does this mean that this film project is going to start production within this year? Maybe after PAN? That maybe director Michael Gracey is putting this on priority ( instead of the Elton John project). Does this mean the film will be getting a release date soon ( maybe for awards season in 2015?) ? *Does this mean that the musical score will be recorded in a studio...and not in the same technique as the LES MISERABLES "live singing" style? Presumably it is not a sung-through musical! *Does this mean that the rewrite of the screenplay by Oscar winner Bill Condon has been completed or nearing completion? *Does this mean that they have cast or are now casting the other key roles? smiley-happy036  Jo
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Post by JH4HJ on Feb 5, 2014 16:01:14 GMT -5
Wonderful news... but - - Oh POO - They're not going to sing "live" (a la Les Mis)  Say "Disappointed" (like Kevin Kline when he opens the safe in A Fish Called Wanda) I looked at IMDB - Hugh is the only cast member listed. What's up with that? I like this idea much better than Chappie or Pan. I hope this one comes to fruition. |
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Post by jo on Feb 5, 2014 16:09:52 GMT -5
The movie is likely not a sung-through musical ( which likely necessitated the live singing style for Les Miserables, apart from Hooper's preferred way of helming the musical) -- it will likely have a great deal of spoken dialogue.
It is likely they will follow the lipsynch style for the songs ( could be Michael Gracey's preferred directorial style). Or this could be an "insurance" recording - to be sure that they have a backup sung score, in case the director opts for "live singing" when he films? Unlike Les Miserables, this is practicable to do as the cast need sing only a certain number of songs ( not a whole movie!) for the studio, before they "sing" in front of the cameras.
FOX should be doing official announcements pretty soon ?
Jo
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Post by birchie on Feb 5, 2014 16:45:53 GMT -5
This was exciting news today! I assume he's referring to recording the cast album or is he just recording his numbers? I don't recognize anyone in the picture, anyone know who they are?  IMDB still has no information about the cast except for Hugh. But I'm ecstatic that something is happening! <cheer> Sue |
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Post by luzie on Feb 5, 2014 16:46:31 GMT -5
Wonderful news... but - - Oh POO - They're not going to sing "live" (a la Les Mis) Say "Disappointed" (like Kevin Kline when he opens the safe in A Fish Called Wanda) I looked at IMDB - Hugh is the only cast member listed. What's up with that? Ditto! I don't like the lip-synch either - sung-through Musical or not. It's a contradiction to everything what he has said about the filming of Les Miserables and future movie musicals. And who is the composer? All is a little bit odd. |
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Post by jo on Feb 5, 2014 16:59:11 GMT -5
It is supposed to be a modern musical!
The composer is a European pop singer called MIKA...But I would not think that that is not a good idea. ABBA wrote one of the most beautiful scores for CHESS and their songbook made up the musical MAMMA MIA!
Jo
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Post by mamaleh on Feb 5, 2014 19:26:01 GMT -5
I was delighted to spot the songwriting team of Pasek and Paul in that photo. I still think they were robbed of the Best Score Tony last year for A CHRISTMAS STORY, superior, IMHO, to the scores for MATIILDA (very good) and KINKY BOOTS (good), the winner. They also wrote a wonderful score for Off-Broadway musical DOGFIGHT a couple of seasons ago. I'm even more psyched for this project now!
Ellen
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Post by birchie on Feb 5, 2014 19:46:46 GMT -5
I was delighted to spot the songwriting team of Pasek and Paul in that photo. I still think they were robbed of the Best Score Tony last year for A CHRISTMAS STORY, superior, IMHO, to the scores for MATIILDA (very good) and KINKY BOOTS (good), the winner. They also wrote a wonderful score for Off-Broadway musical DOGFIGHT a couple of seasons ago. I'm even more psyched for this project now! Ellen I don't know which two they are, but I'm glad to see someone recognizes people in the picture. This is all very odd to me. There is nothing on IMDB suggesting they have anything to do with The Greatest Showman On Earth but there they are at a recording session with the star and a bunch of unknown people...strange! So it would seem that live singing isn't about to become the standard for movie musicals after all, that's a shame. <boo> Makes me think it was much more difficult & complicated than we even knew & Tom Hooper should have gotten rewarded more for doing it! Sue |
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Post by suefb on Feb 5, 2014 21:57:37 GMT -5
I was delighted to spot the songwriting team of Pasek and Paul in that photo. I still think they were robbed of the Best Score Tony last year for A CHRISTMAS STORY, superior, IMHO, to the scores for MATIILDA (very good) and KINKY BOOTS (good), the winner. They also wrote a wonderful score for Off-Broadway musical DOGFIGHT a couple of seasons ago. I'm even more psyched for this project now! Ellen I don't know which two they are, but I'm glad to see someone recognizes people in the picture. This is all very odd to me. There is nothing on IMDB suggesting they have anything to do with The Greatest Showman On Earth but there they are at a recording session with the star and a bunch of unknown people...strange! So it would seem that live singing isn't about to become the standard for movie musicals after all, that's a shame. <boo> Makes me think it was much more difficult & complicated than we even knew & Tom Hooper should have gotten rewarded more for doing it! Sue Two of the "unknown people" are the movie's director Michael Gracey (with the cap, doesn't he look so young!) and producer Laurence Mark (on the other side of Hugh). |
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Post by mamaleh on Feb 5, 2014 22:50:56 GMT -5
Pasek and Paul appear to be the young guys flanking the woman. I'm assuming they are now providing the songs. I wonder when this will actually film.
Ellen
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Post by birchie on Feb 5, 2014 23:02:22 GMT -5
Two of the "unknown people" are the movie's director Michael Gracey (with the cap, doesn't he look so young!) and producer Laurence Mark (on the other side of Hugh). Thanks, the mystery is whittling away I thought I recognized Laurence Mark but couldn't place him. I've seen his picture for other things he's produced and most notably probably saw it around the time when Hugh hosted the Academy Awards. duh smiley-whacky078 Except for Mr Mark they all look very young. I thought Hugh looked really young in this picture too. I think he gets rejuvenated when he's in his element, aka working on a musical! I hope we hear more about this soon. Sue |
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Post by JH4HJ on Feb 6, 2014 13:36:59 GMT -5
ArticleIt seems like there's a lot of chatter online about this... but none of it actually says anything.
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Post by mamaleh on Feb 6, 2014 14:27:28 GMT -5
I know. We're all just assuming Pasek & Paul are writing the songs; it certainly looks that way. But maybe they're just advising? Or contributing just a song or two? I, too, would appreciate someone in the know setting the record straight on all particulars.
Ellen
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Post by birchie on Feb 6, 2014 14:34:41 GMT -5
Yes, it's all very odd...buzz, buzz, buzz & nothing leads to information! Much ado about nothing so far...very disheartening. I agree Ellen someone needs to take the bull by the horn and put out some real authentic information. Updating the IMDB page would help. I mean seriously, who the hell is in this movie anyway??!!?? They must have cast someone besides Hugh after all this time!! <wtf>
Sue
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Post by foxie on Feb 6, 2014 21:00:16 GMT -5
The mystery -I was shocked to see this!
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jo
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Post by jo on Feb 7, 2014 7:01:36 GMT -5
I know. We're all just assuming Pasek & Paul are writing the songs; it certainly looks that way. But maybe they're just advising? Or contributing just a song or two? I, too, would appreciate someone in the know setting the record straight on all particulars. Ellen This could be the new songwriting team (Pasek and Paul). There has been no further mention of MIKA's involvement since he was first announced to write the musical score. He might have been replaced early on. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mika_(singer)I am not bothered too much that the singing process adopted for this movie is not like Les Miserables. I think the "live singing" process is especially effective for sung-through dramatic musicals. It would have worked as effectively for musicals like Phantom of the Opera or if they had adapted Sunset Boulevard and Miss Saigon to film because they are sung-through musicals and focus on dramatic acting as well. I doubt that there would be any recitatives ( sung dialogs), which as Hugh says in the BluRay extras for LesMiserables necessitated the use of live singing ( quite apart from the heavy dramatic acting requirements)...Plus it would be very impractical for sung-through musicals to do a live recording of the entire musical and then to lipsynch the entire musical script afterwards. That would be a much more expensive film production to mount. My sense is that this biopic is a typical book musical, with a musical score to highlight the storyline and characterizations which flows from the book/script. It would likely have a significant part in spoken dialog form. This is a biopic on the life of a famous impresario - P.T.Barnum, who was neither a singer or a musician. But he was a showman extraordinaire because of the live entertainment events he mounted. There will likely be spectacle for this kind of a movie. And the musical score and spoken dialog will highlight the life of someone who gave the world the name impresario! We'll see... Although, I also wonder if this is a much smaller scale project under the Fox Searchlight wing, rather than the mother FOX studio. We'll need some confirmations about the film project. Jo |
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