Post by jo on Mar 30, 2017 1:28:46 GMT -5
Thanks to Jackman'sLanding for the link --
Clayton Davis does his early Oscar prognostications --
www.awardscircuit.com/2017/03/29/2017-awards-profile-the-greatest-showman-from-20th-century-fox/
Davis or his site usually does rolling predictions as the movie is publicized and eventually released. Based on the past, he does favor Hugh Jackman as an actor.
But it seems these early predictions were simply predicated on what they may have mostly read on IMDB! Presumably, they also based their predictions on an early script version ( Jenny Bicks version) which emphasized Barnum's supposed infatuation for Jenny Lind. But if they did watch the early Barnum musical ( Cy Coleman), there is really more emphasis on the impact of Charity ( played by Michelle Williams) on the life of P.T.Barnum. And in the movie, if you look at the casting, you will note that there might even be a backstory on the lives of young P.T. and young Charity. Also, the reports from the set was about the dancing sessions of Hugh/Barnum with Michelle/Charity, so presumably there might be more production numbers with the Charity character. I might be wrong, but I think it should be Michelle who should be considered for the lead and Rebecca for supporting. Or both roles could land as supporting features. I might be wrong, too, but Clayton's site might have also followed the listing of actors on IMDB where Rebecca is listed ahead of Hugh Jackman. Sorry to say but I have long found out that the IMDB listing based on their own starmeter gauge could easily be manipulated by fans
They did not also check more thoroughly on Michelle Williams's body of work -- the site did not know that Michelle sang the lead role of Sally Bowles in a recent revival of the iconic stage musical CABARET ( made famous by Liza Minnelli in the film version) on Broadway. In a twist of fate, Michelle Williams was followed in the role by Emma Stone, both newcomers to musicals. But it was Emma who won an Oscar for the film musical LaLaLand.
Who might also be a dark horse for supporting -- maybe Keala Settle who plays The Bearded Lady and gets to sing the song that Hugh introduced in his Oz concert, THIS IS ME! Also, there was a report that Keala received flowers from the producers for her inspired performance the previous day, presumably for THIS IS ME. THIS IS ME is the song attributed to the so-called circus freaks, which could have interesting human interest stories!
I have always thought Michael Gracey might be the weak link because this will be his first featured length movie! But Michael has been with the project for just a year-or-so shorter than Hugh ( who wrote on his THANK-YOU note that this was a 7-year dream project) -- having been a part of the development process, including the series of workshops with Broadway actors! There was a change in emphasis of the storyline to one which focuses a lot on Barnum's life as an impresario and circus founder. Presumably, that will focus a lot on spectacle and big production numbers -- that would be an area where Michael Gracey's known particular strengths ( staging such numbers ) could be very well-employed!
Also, since this is produced by FOX itself ( they are not just distributors, if Clayton Davis's site bothered to read the IMDB details on the production companies involved) and has been a passion project of Hugh Jackman, it does not sound as if they will simply entrust a fairly big project to an unknown with no experience until they have already seen his work. So, we will see about that. Btw, the producers cited included all the names listed on IMDB but it seems the real ones very actively involved and making all the major decisions are those two listed under the title PRODUCER are Hugh Jackman and Laurence Mark! Hugh has had producing experience (uncredited) with the XMen movies while Mark is a well-known producer ( nominated for Dreamgirls/Jerry McGuire, etc). It is a safe bet that these two together have made very good decisions about the film project! They probably worked very closely with Michael Gracey! Btw, Bill Condon and Laurence Mark were the Oscars producers when Hugh hosted the ceremonies in 2009 ( same year when the GREATEST SHOWMAN project was first announced).
Re the script -- it was first written by Jenny Bicks and had a different slant ( with much emphasis on the Jenny Lind factor). Bill Condon came along but the word is ( from what I have read) he did not really do a major rewrite but reviewed it and gave pointers on how to revise it. Then it was handed over to another Oscar winner Michael Arndt ( Little Miss Sunshine/Toy Story 3/Hunger Games/Star Wars:The Force Awakens), who was supposed to have hit a homerun with the final script, according to some buzz!
It seems it was both the script and the musical score which really extended the development process of the project! The project ended up with a supposedly excellent script by an Oscar winner and a musical score solely by the team of Pasek &Paul, most recent Oscar winner for Best Original Song. The writing of the musical score also took a long time. It was initially farmed out to a British pop song writer Mika...but eventually the score was handed over to a team of songwriters (including Pasek & Paul), many with pop music backgrounds until a decision was made to hand everything solely to Pasek & Paul, whose background is basically musical theatre! The duo have not just won an Oscar but also successfully opened the new Broadway hit, Dear Evan Hansen.
The musical score was tested through various workshops -- initially with Aaron Tveit, Sutton Foster and others like Keala -- people with strong Broadway pedigree. In the final reading in February 2016 attended by FOX execs ( yes, they were deeply involved), the singers were top Broadway voices, including the newly-minted Oscar winner Cynthia Erivo, Carolyn Bowman, Jeremy Jordan, Allison Huff, etc...with Michael and Hugh guiding the efforts. There were also reports of table readings ( of the script) without the musical score. If at all, the development process couldn't have been more thorough. Btw, the songs were pre-recorded in a studio before filming started.
We have an Oscar- nominated cinematographer and and Oscar-nominated production designer -- so it seems the creatives have very strong skills sets, together with the screenwriter and the musical score composers!
I guess we will have to see how the first teaser/trailer shapes up! Just like LOGAN, where the first trailer compelled so many views and eventually actually captured the essence of the film without overhyping -- then the first teaser/trailer for THE GREATEST SHOWMAN could be very telling! Again, it cannot be overemphasized that a great deal of the success of this film will be attributable to how Michael Gracey orchestrates the filmmaking efforts!
Hugh Jackman is not always this involved deeply in all his projects except for his acting portrayals -- but based on past history, when he is very deeply attached and involved in the actual project development and execution of major artistic endeavors , there is a very high rate of impressive successful results ( The Boy from Oz/ Back on Broadway/ Logan/even The Fountain, as examples) so I am hopeful about THE GREATEST SHOWMAN. Oscar or no Oscar!
But the inclusion by Clayton Davis of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN as a movie with good Oscar potential is certainly welcome!
Jo
Clayton Davis does his early Oscar prognostications --
www.awardscircuit.com/2017/03/29/2017-awards-profile-the-greatest-showman-from-20th-century-fox/
2017 Awards Profile: ‘The Greatest Showman’ from 20th Century Fox
Article, Award Profile, Featured Post March 29, 2017
March 29, 2017
Karen M. Peterson
Welcome to the 2017 Awards Profile series, where we talk about high- and low-profile films coming to a theater near you at some point this year. We will analyze the potential for these films to be players for the Academy Awards, and while many of these have the potential to be recognized, many will not, either by quality or being pushed back to the following year. For the next few weeks, we will bring you a film every Monday and Wednesday to talk about their potential. If you have a suggestion, please include it in the comments below. If you missed a film, click on the tag or category Awards Profile.
FILM: “The Greatest Showman”
PRODUCERS: Donald J. Lee Jr, Laurence Mark, Deb Dyer, Hugh Jackman, Peter Kohn
DISTRIBUTOR: 20th Century Fox
DIRECTOR: Michael Gracey
WRITER: Michael Arndt, Jenny Bicks, Bill Condon
CAST: Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Zac Efron, Michele Williams, Zendaya
SYNOPSIS (via iMDB): The story of American showman P.T. Barnum, founder of the circus that became the famous traveling Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
WHY IT MIGHT SUCCEED: Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced in January that they are closing this May. The news was met with mixed reactions, though declining ticket sales suggest few are particularly upset about it. However, the demise of one of the oldest circuses has sparked renewed interest in its origins. Now seems the perfect time to bring P.T. Barnum’s story to the screen.
One thing was clear with the success of “La La Land”: audiences are open to original musicals. Even though most movie musicals are adapted from the stage, occasionally an original story hits. And on the subject of ‘La La Land,’ the music for ‘The Greatest Showman’ is written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. They won an Oscar for Best Original Song last month and were nominated twice.
The writing team is a talented trio. Michael Arndt won an Oscar for ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ and was later nominated again for ‘Toy Story 3.’ Jenny Bicks won an Emmy for her work on the television series ‘Sex and the City.’ And Bill Condon, still reveling in the nearly billion dollar live action ‘Beauty and the Beast’ also brings an Oscar and a nomination to the mix.
The rest of the crew, including cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, has a collected eight Oscar nominations and at least 5 Prime Time Emmy nominations among them. This is a crew that produces quality work.
And then you have Hugh Jackman in the lead role. Jackman built his early career on the stage and has two Tony Awards. His Oscar nomination came for the film version of ‘Les Misérables.’ Jackman truly is a showman and will no doubt thrive in another musical. Zac Efron, who came to fame with the ‘High School Musical’ franchise, also stars. Rebecca Ferguson and Michelle Williams aren’t known for their singing abilities, but neither was Nicole Kidman before ‘Moulin Rouge!’ came along.
WHY IT MIGHT NOT SUCCEED: It’s hard to imagine that all of this talent won’t lead to awards. However, director Michael Gracey is the potential weak link here. And the director is a pretty significant link. His filmography is short and this is his first feature film. He did visual effects for a few projects in the early 2000s, but has spent most of his time making commercials in Australia. With little to go on, it’s hard to predict how well he will pull everything and everyone together.
In addition, the writers are exceptionally talented. However, it’s possible that this could turn out to be a case of too many cooks in the kitchen. It would be a shame to see a messy script from these three.
Also, people love musicals, but, as we saw with ‘La La Land,’ they tend to get a lot of nominations, but not a lot of wins. Prior to ‘Chicago’s 2002 win, the last musical to win Best Picture was ‘Oliver!’ in 1968. Not impossible. But certainly a challenge to overcome.
POTENTIAL OSCAR CATEGORIES IN PLAY:
Motion Picture
Director–Michael Gracey
Lead Actor–Hugh Jackman
Lead Actress–Rebecca Ferguson
Supporting Actor–Zac Efron
Supporting Actress–Michelle Williams
Original Screenplay–Michael Arndt, Jenny Bicks, and Bill Condon
Cinematography–Seamus McGarvey
Original Song–Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
Original Score
Film Editing
Production Design–Nathan Crowley
Costume Design–Ellen Mirojnick
Makeup and Hairstyling
Sound Mixing
Sound Editing
Article, Award Profile, Featured Post March 29, 2017
March 29, 2017
Karen M. Peterson
Welcome to the 2017 Awards Profile series, where we talk about high- and low-profile films coming to a theater near you at some point this year. We will analyze the potential for these films to be players for the Academy Awards, and while many of these have the potential to be recognized, many will not, either by quality or being pushed back to the following year. For the next few weeks, we will bring you a film every Monday and Wednesday to talk about their potential. If you have a suggestion, please include it in the comments below. If you missed a film, click on the tag or category Awards Profile.
FILM: “The Greatest Showman”
PRODUCERS: Donald J. Lee Jr, Laurence Mark, Deb Dyer, Hugh Jackman, Peter Kohn
DISTRIBUTOR: 20th Century Fox
DIRECTOR: Michael Gracey
WRITER: Michael Arndt, Jenny Bicks, Bill Condon
CAST: Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Zac Efron, Michele Williams, Zendaya
SYNOPSIS (via iMDB): The story of American showman P.T. Barnum, founder of the circus that became the famous traveling Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
WHY IT MIGHT SUCCEED: Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced in January that they are closing this May. The news was met with mixed reactions, though declining ticket sales suggest few are particularly upset about it. However, the demise of one of the oldest circuses has sparked renewed interest in its origins. Now seems the perfect time to bring P.T. Barnum’s story to the screen.
One thing was clear with the success of “La La Land”: audiences are open to original musicals. Even though most movie musicals are adapted from the stage, occasionally an original story hits. And on the subject of ‘La La Land,’ the music for ‘The Greatest Showman’ is written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. They won an Oscar for Best Original Song last month and were nominated twice.
The writing team is a talented trio. Michael Arndt won an Oscar for ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ and was later nominated again for ‘Toy Story 3.’ Jenny Bicks won an Emmy for her work on the television series ‘Sex and the City.’ And Bill Condon, still reveling in the nearly billion dollar live action ‘Beauty and the Beast’ also brings an Oscar and a nomination to the mix.
The rest of the crew, including cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, has a collected eight Oscar nominations and at least 5 Prime Time Emmy nominations among them. This is a crew that produces quality work.
And then you have Hugh Jackman in the lead role. Jackman built his early career on the stage and has two Tony Awards. His Oscar nomination came for the film version of ‘Les Misérables.’ Jackman truly is a showman and will no doubt thrive in another musical. Zac Efron, who came to fame with the ‘High School Musical’ franchise, also stars. Rebecca Ferguson and Michelle Williams aren’t known for their singing abilities, but neither was Nicole Kidman before ‘Moulin Rouge!’ came along.
WHY IT MIGHT NOT SUCCEED: It’s hard to imagine that all of this talent won’t lead to awards. However, director Michael Gracey is the potential weak link here. And the director is a pretty significant link. His filmography is short and this is his first feature film. He did visual effects for a few projects in the early 2000s, but has spent most of his time making commercials in Australia. With little to go on, it’s hard to predict how well he will pull everything and everyone together.
In addition, the writers are exceptionally talented. However, it’s possible that this could turn out to be a case of too many cooks in the kitchen. It would be a shame to see a messy script from these three.
Also, people love musicals, but, as we saw with ‘La La Land,’ they tend to get a lot of nominations, but not a lot of wins. Prior to ‘Chicago’s 2002 win, the last musical to win Best Picture was ‘Oliver!’ in 1968. Not impossible. But certainly a challenge to overcome.
POTENTIAL OSCAR CATEGORIES IN PLAY:
Motion Picture
Director–Michael Gracey
Lead Actor–Hugh Jackman
Lead Actress–Rebecca Ferguson
Supporting Actor–Zac Efron
Supporting Actress–Michelle Williams
Original Screenplay–Michael Arndt, Jenny Bicks, and Bill Condon
Cinematography–Seamus McGarvey
Original Song–Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
Original Score
Film Editing
Production Design–Nathan Crowley
Costume Design–Ellen Mirojnick
Makeup and Hairstyling
Sound Mixing
Sound Editing
Davis or his site usually does rolling predictions as the movie is publicized and eventually released. Based on the past, he does favor Hugh Jackman as an actor.
But it seems these early predictions were simply predicated on what they may have mostly read on IMDB! Presumably, they also based their predictions on an early script version ( Jenny Bicks version) which emphasized Barnum's supposed infatuation for Jenny Lind. But if they did watch the early Barnum musical ( Cy Coleman), there is really more emphasis on the impact of Charity ( played by Michelle Williams) on the life of P.T.Barnum. And in the movie, if you look at the casting, you will note that there might even be a backstory on the lives of young P.T. and young Charity. Also, the reports from the set was about the dancing sessions of Hugh/Barnum with Michelle/Charity, so presumably there might be more production numbers with the Charity character. I might be wrong, but I think it should be Michelle who should be considered for the lead and Rebecca for supporting. Or both roles could land as supporting features. I might be wrong, too, but Clayton's site might have also followed the listing of actors on IMDB where Rebecca is listed ahead of Hugh Jackman. Sorry to say but I have long found out that the IMDB listing based on their own starmeter gauge could easily be manipulated by fans
They did not also check more thoroughly on Michelle Williams's body of work -- the site did not know that Michelle sang the lead role of Sally Bowles in a recent revival of the iconic stage musical CABARET ( made famous by Liza Minnelli in the film version) on Broadway. In a twist of fate, Michelle Williams was followed in the role by Emma Stone, both newcomers to musicals. But it was Emma who won an Oscar for the film musical LaLaLand.
Who might also be a dark horse for supporting -- maybe Keala Settle who plays The Bearded Lady and gets to sing the song that Hugh introduced in his Oz concert, THIS IS ME! Also, there was a report that Keala received flowers from the producers for her inspired performance the previous day, presumably for THIS IS ME. THIS IS ME is the song attributed to the so-called circus freaks, which could have interesting human interest stories!
I have always thought Michael Gracey might be the weak link because this will be his first featured length movie! But Michael has been with the project for just a year-or-so shorter than Hugh ( who wrote on his THANK-YOU note that this was a 7-year dream project) -- having been a part of the development process, including the series of workshops with Broadway actors! There was a change in emphasis of the storyline to one which focuses a lot on Barnum's life as an impresario and circus founder. Presumably, that will focus a lot on spectacle and big production numbers -- that would be an area where Michael Gracey's known particular strengths ( staging such numbers ) could be very well-employed!
Also, since this is produced by FOX itself ( they are not just distributors, if Clayton Davis's site bothered to read the IMDB details on the production companies involved) and has been a passion project of Hugh Jackman, it does not sound as if they will simply entrust a fairly big project to an unknown with no experience until they have already seen his work. So, we will see about that. Btw, the producers cited included all the names listed on IMDB but it seems the real ones very actively involved and making all the major decisions are those two listed under the title PRODUCER are Hugh Jackman and Laurence Mark! Hugh has had producing experience (uncredited) with the XMen movies while Mark is a well-known producer ( nominated for Dreamgirls/Jerry McGuire, etc). It is a safe bet that these two together have made very good decisions about the film project! They probably worked very closely with Michael Gracey! Btw, Bill Condon and Laurence Mark were the Oscars producers when Hugh hosted the ceremonies in 2009 ( same year when the GREATEST SHOWMAN project was first announced).
Re the script -- it was first written by Jenny Bicks and had a different slant ( with much emphasis on the Jenny Lind factor). Bill Condon came along but the word is ( from what I have read) he did not really do a major rewrite but reviewed it and gave pointers on how to revise it. Then it was handed over to another Oscar winner Michael Arndt ( Little Miss Sunshine/Toy Story 3/Hunger Games/Star Wars:The Force Awakens), who was supposed to have hit a homerun with the final script, according to some buzz!
It seems it was both the script and the musical score which really extended the development process of the project! The project ended up with a supposedly excellent script by an Oscar winner and a musical score solely by the team of Pasek &Paul, most recent Oscar winner for Best Original Song. The writing of the musical score also took a long time. It was initially farmed out to a British pop song writer Mika...but eventually the score was handed over to a team of songwriters (including Pasek & Paul), many with pop music backgrounds until a decision was made to hand everything solely to Pasek & Paul, whose background is basically musical theatre! The duo have not just won an Oscar but also successfully opened the new Broadway hit, Dear Evan Hansen.
The musical score was tested through various workshops -- initially with Aaron Tveit, Sutton Foster and others like Keala -- people with strong Broadway pedigree. In the final reading in February 2016 attended by FOX execs ( yes, they were deeply involved), the singers were top Broadway voices, including the newly-minted Oscar winner Cynthia Erivo, Carolyn Bowman, Jeremy Jordan, Allison Huff, etc...with Michael and Hugh guiding the efforts. There were also reports of table readings ( of the script) without the musical score. If at all, the development process couldn't have been more thorough. Btw, the songs were pre-recorded in a studio before filming started.
We have an Oscar- nominated cinematographer and and Oscar-nominated production designer -- so it seems the creatives have very strong skills sets, together with the screenwriter and the musical score composers!
I guess we will have to see how the first teaser/trailer shapes up! Just like LOGAN, where the first trailer compelled so many views and eventually actually captured the essence of the film without overhyping -- then the first teaser/trailer for THE GREATEST SHOWMAN could be very telling! Again, it cannot be overemphasized that a great deal of the success of this film will be attributable to how Michael Gracey orchestrates the filmmaking efforts!
Hugh Jackman is not always this involved deeply in all his projects except for his acting portrayals -- but based on past history, when he is very deeply attached and involved in the actual project development and execution of major artistic endeavors , there is a very high rate of impressive successful results ( The Boy from Oz/ Back on Broadway/ Logan/even The Fountain, as examples) so I am hopeful about THE GREATEST SHOWMAN. Oscar or no Oscar!
But the inclusion by Clayton Davis of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN as a movie with good Oscar potential is certainly welcome!
Jo
*wolverine snikt icon*
