THE GREATEST SHOWMAN

[jo]

More details on the real Barnum vs the film Barnum


www.njherald.com/article/20180120/AP/301209891#

[jo]

Interesting article on the Supervising vocal producer, Liz Caplan. She has also been Hugh's vocal coach for some time now.

www.playbill.com/article/how-broadways-most-in-demand-vocal-coach-kept-ben-platt-neil-patrick-harris-and-more-healthy

[carouselkathy]

Many voice teachers use stretching and breathing exercises at the beginning of lessons, especially in colleges where music/voice majors are on the run between classes. I was lucky to have such a teacher. Unfortunately, I remember walking down the hallway of the music department hearing students vocalize without the relaxation techniques. The sound was different. I wish I had taken better care of my voice in the intervening years! Bravo to Liz Caplan for her excellent work.

[jo]

One of the most energetic dancers was one of albino twins --

www.tribtoday.com/news/local-news/2018/01/howland-native-hangs-with-the-stars/

“The Greatest Showman” features a local show woman, and Hugh Jackman is only one of her famous co-stars.

Howland native Mishay Petronelli worked for seven months as a dancer, singer and actor on the film, which has grossed more than $120 million in theaters since opening Dec. 20.

Jackman stars in the movie about circus impresario P.T. Barnum, and Petronelli plays an albino, one of the characters who makes up the freak show in Barnum’s circus.

“We’re dancing, singing and acting through the entire movie,” Petronelli said. “None of the lines I had made it (into the final cut), but I am in multiple scenes and ended up getting to do an improv acting scene with Hugh Jackman.”
Petronelli, 31, said Jackman was a joy to work with on the set.

“Oh my gosh, he’s the Wolverine,” she said, referring to Jackman’s superhero character in the “X-Men” films. “I’ve worked with so many celebrities, I know to stay your distance, but he wanted to be around us. He made a point of saying ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ to each of us every day. He’s so humble, so talented.”

Every Friday, Jackman would buy lottery tickets for all of the cast and crew, and he would keep everyone energized during long days and nights on the set.

“There were times we shot all night, and the dancers were so exhausted, but the director needed energy. Hugh Jackman would throw out a couple of Wolverine screams and all of the sudden it was like, ‘Oh, yeah, we’re going to do this.'”
When Petronelli says she’s been around a lot of celebrities, she’s not exaggerating. She spent the beginning of 2018 in Los Angeles working on a live episode of the Paramount Network’s “Lip Sync Battle” featuring Neil Patrick Harris, Taraji P. Henson, Hailee Steinfeld and Laverne Cox performing songs by Michael Jackson...



That tour’s schedule kept her from participating in most of the events planned around the opening of “The Greatest Showman,” but she was able to attend its New York premiere, which fell on a day off. She’s seen herself on television and in music videos before, but being on a movie screen was different.

“I’m kind of my biggest critic. I can’t stand watching myself. I wanted to look away, but at the same time, I couldn’t stop watching. I couldn’t believe I’d done such a big project.”

The albino lady was the most prominent during the movie's most energetic and best performed choreography, FROM NOW ON!


And...Hugh Jackman - Chief Cheerleader!


Jo

[jo]

[jo]

I am also posting this on this thread -- interesting that a media outlet like THE NEW YORK TIMES now wants to examine this cultural phenomenon that THE GREATEST SHOWMAN has turned into across the world!

Feb 9, 2018 14:56:04 GMT -5 jo said:

In its occasionally patronizing manner, there is a new NYTimes article which wonders ahout the success of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN. The writer still maintains that their critical review (Negative!) is reflective of what the movie brings. But maybe they do have some doubts now as the "venerable" paper condescends to invite readers to express their own sentiments about the movie --

www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/movies/why-do-you-love-the-greatest-showman.html

When there is joy and appreciation among so many - across ages, genders, and borders - why question when something is loved! Maybe if they see the show with an open mind (forgetting preconceived notions about the purpose of cinema), they just may discover the secret?

Btw, if you want to chime in ( so far around 50 have responded) -- you only have 1500 words to sing the praise of our Hugh

Jo

[jo]

This is the full article --

What’s So Great About ‘The Greatest Showman’?
By STEPHANIE GOODMANFEB. 9, 2018

Why do people like “The Greatest Showman”?

When the movie starring Hugh Jackman was released in December, our critic Jason Zinoman said it was solidly meh. It’s “a montage sequence that occasionally turns into a movie musical,” he wrote. And the box office numbers seemed to back him up, opening to an underwhelming $13.2 million — not great for an $84 million production.

Music writers were just as unimpressed. The soundtrack, by the “La La Land” guys Justin Hurwitz and Benj Pasek, is “populist to a fault, every song a Voltron-esque evocation of various current pop and rock stars,” Rob Harvilla wrote in The Ringer.

But something funny has happened in the weeks since the musical opened. Moviegoers really like this tale of P.T. Barnum’s early years and have turned both the movie and its music into bona fide hits. The box office total is $138 million and counting, and the album, which just went gold, is No. 1 on the Billboard chart. The Oscar-nominated “This Is Me,” belted by Keala Settle as the bearded lady, is still in the Hot 100, though dropping.


The divide between the critics and the people could not be sharper: On Rotten Tomatoes, the critics’ score is a 55 percent splat; the audience score is 90 percent fresh.

Fans clearly love songs like the stomper “The Greatest Show.”

The Greatest Show (from The Greatest Showman Soundtrack) [Official Audio] Video by Atlantic Records
Critics don’t want to hear “Come Alive” again.

Come Alive (from The Greatest Showman Soundtrack) [Official Audio] Video by Atlantic Records


I’m on the critics’ side. As the film editor, I was underwhelmed by the story and the music, though Ms. Settle and the other actors playing the circus eccentrics gave heartfelt performances, and the dancing was interesting at times.

There are several theories about the “The Greatest Showman’s” popularity, including the songs’ earworm quality, the “Hamilton”-like way the musical puts a modern spin on a familiar story and even the escapist experience watching the movie can be.


But I’d like to hear from fans of “The Greatest Showman”: tell me what I’m missing. In the comments, share what you like (or love) about the musical. We’ll publish a selection of them in the coming days.

[jo]

The way Stephanie wrote the article was cynical. She didn't have to say that she agreed with their film critic's negative review - simply invite comments in trying to look at how the extreme positive reaction to the movie developed. Maybe she was forced/persuaded to pursue the subject because the movie and its music are becoming cultural phenomena? As someone among the readers said, why question why people liked something? Maybe her effort should have been an earnest one- and as film editor at the NYTimes by trying to discover what really perked up all the PUBLIC APPROVAL BUTTONS!

On the other hand, by putting the topic to the forefront, maybe readers of the NYTimes who might have initially dismissed the movie and did not bother to see it may find the responses as an incentive to discovering what turned the switch on for THE GREATEST SHOWMAN


Jo

[jo]

A critic disagrees with Stephanie --

[jo]

A tweet to the NYTimes --

[jo]

The tweeter seems to have worked on the film project, based on previous tweets from him.

It looks like Hugh was hovering like a doting father as the film started becoming a reality. There was also a clip of him recording the filming of THIS IS ME and afterwards cheering the moment and becoming a little emotional.

I hope he eventually writes an article on what this passion project has meant to him... with maybe an epilogue on the unexpected heartfelt response to the movie by audiences around the world!

[israruth]

For anyone interested, Amazon has a beautiful book called "The Art and Making of the Greatest Showman."

[jo]

It looks the child actress playing Helen Barnum is growing up fast. She was a bit littler in the movie, even when she was portraying the "tree"

[jo]

First, Variety's Owen Gleiberman wrote an article on why there was much critical knee-capping but that he himself was elated by the movie ( and received over 130 replies in agreement)... Then articles noting the rising appeal came from Atlantic Monthly and The UK Guardian. Forbes has steadily reported on the all the records being broken at the box office, even if early on, it believed the major factor was the sector "that comes from the young audience, those who watched TinTin reverently"( which the Forbes writer later on acknowledged was not the main reason). There have been mentions of the increasing appeal at Hollywood Reporter, Tracking Board, and Deadline.com. Then NYTimes began getting some answers directly from audiences who "liked/loved" the movie. Other media have explored the source of the fascination.

Now the movie press and other media are all pushing stories on the slow-burn success of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN at the box office -- this time it is Vulture that examines this Cinderella story.


www.vulture.com/2018/02/the-sneaky-slow-burn-success-of-the-greatest-showman.html

February 13, 2018 8:29 am
Inside the Slow-Burn Success of The Greatest Showman, This Season’s Sneakiest Hit
By
Chris Lee


Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman. Photo: Nico Tavernise/Twentieth Century Fox


When The Greatest Showman arrived in theaters on Christmas Day, the biopic-musical’s initial showing wasn’t particularly, well, great. Starring Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum, and inauthentically plotted around the 19th-century circus huckster/carny capitalist/freak show impresario’s rise to prominence, the PG-rated movie emerged into one of last year’s most competitive release corridors: up against Star Wars: The Last Jedi (which had come out ten days earlier but still dominated ticket sales) and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, as well as awards bait such as Phantom Thread, the Aaron Sorkin–directed Molly’s Game, and All the Money in the World.

Worse still, critics weren’t generally kind to the film — “Suckers May Be Bored Every Minute of the Exhausting ‘The Greatest Showman,’” reads the headline on the Village Voice’s review — leading to a calamitous 55 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And for all the Fox-distributed film’s dubstep drops, outré dance numbers, pop-video-inflected cinematography, and songs composed by Grammy-/Tony-/Oscar-winning La La Land lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Showman just couldn’t find an audience over its Yuletide bow. Playing in just over 3,000 theaters, the film’s debut three-day total was a mere $8.8 million. “To be perfectly frank, after that opening weekend, we thought we were dead,” Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox, tells Vulture. “Eight point eight is not a robust opening by any stretch. The opening was disappointing.”
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But audience exits polls told another story: People loved The Greatest Showman. And independent of any Fox efforts to continue promoting the film, fans began spreading their love through social media and good old-fashioned word of mouth. What’s more, its soundtrack — featuring vocal performances by Jackman and co-stars Zendaya, Zac Efron, and Michelle Williams (among others) — began to climb up the pop charts after first landing on the Billboard album chart at No. 66.


Over its second weekend in theaters, Showman took in a comparatively robust $15.5 million; in its third, $20.9 million. And at a stage where most movies see attendance drop off a cliff, Showman showed surprising staying power, demonstrating only incremental audience declines week by week into its second month in theaters. The soundtrack, meanwhile, shot to the top of the pop charts in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia, hitting No. 1 at iTunes in 75 countries, and picking up a gold RIAA certification along the way. Its breakout anthem “This Is Me” (sung by Keala Settle) also won a Golden Globe and is currently in the running for a Best Original Song Oscar.

Now in its tenth week in theaters, the $84 million movie has grossed an impressive $146 million domestically ($314 million worldwide) to become one of the rare slow-burn cinematic successes in recent memory. “It’s just keeps going and going,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. “The weekend drops were like 11 percent, nine percent, 15 percent, 10 percent. That is almost unheard of for any movie. The sustained interest that audiences have had in this movie kept it afloat and kept it going and made it one of the unsung heroes of the holiday box-office season.”
As Erik Davis, managing editor at Fandango, points out, the movie was something of an outlier: a live-action, family-friendly film with a life-affirming message that wasn’t specifically aimed at a faith-based audience and that was (for concerned parents) refreshingly free of the kind of bathroom humor or sexual innuendo that typically accompanies PG-13-rated fare. “After its first week at the box office, the user reviews on Fandango were ecstatic, with mostly five-star ratings,” says Davis. “The great word of mouth spread quickly and The Greatest Showman ended up as one of our top ticket sellers through the holidays.”

So what can other movies (or at the very least, their studio distributors and marketers) learn from Showman’s underdog path to the kingdom of sleeper hits? In a crowded multiplex marketplace, how can other films duplicate the movie’s success? In a word (perhaps Hollywood’s least favorite word): patience. Positioned as counter-programming to the winter movie season’s barrage of popcorn and prestige fare, Showman arrived in theaters as the cinematic version of neither fish nor fowl; what studio executives described internally as a “special movie.” But even after the bad reviews and lackluster opening, they continued to push the film, organizing “Sing-along” screenings — videoke-style events where lyrics to the songs were flashed onscreen and audience members joined in the performance. And that helped perpetuate word-of-mouth buzz.
More crucially, though, exit polls convinced execs not to give up on Showman even while moviegoers flocked to The Last Jedi and Jumanji. “You have to know your content. You have to be confident in having something that audiences will embrace,” Aronson says. “I liken it to a fine bottle of wine. You gotta let it breathe. If you do, the better it gets. But if you pour it all out, ‘Eh, it’s okay.’ Then it’s gone. Let it breathe; then you savor it.”

There isn't anything new that is presented. It is not that well-researched. The real indicators that audiences were very pleased with the movie were the info that people had easy access to, such as the ROTTEN TOMATOES Critics vs Audience Score, the IMDB average user ratings/reviews, the Metacritic critic vs audience ratings, even the Amazon reader reviews (4.9 of 5.0 rating) and of course the running commentary on social media ( for almost 2 months running now). Missing in all the analysis from various media outlets was the phenomemon of multiple-patronage of the movie!

Also, the singalongs were not reported on that much in the USA, as much as it was in the UK.

Who else will come and try to explain the phenomenon of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN at the box office?


If I were the astute journalist, I would see if I could backtrack on all the social media commentaries from the time the movie opened! I think much of the many ways by which the audiences reacted to the movie ( and what they did to further heighten interest) could be key to answering the main question of what clicked in the moviegoer's mind!

I myself watched with excited eyes all the running reactions ( see how long our Fan Reactions thread has become...and those posts were just the skimmed top) to the movie - I could feel the extra enthusiasm early on...and felt that maybe, just maybe, The Greatest Showman could become a movie musical that many people will love. And I hoped that Hugh et al also felt the early signs of tremendous success!

One of the most telling was a shared clip of a toddler ( maybe 2 -3 years old singing snatches of "Never...never...never Enough!" - LOL! And here in my country which has music-mad audiences, a group of well-known performers actually used a medley from The Greatest Showman ( Greatest Show/MillionDreams/NeverEnough/ThisIsMe/RewriteTheStars/FromNowOn/ComeAlive) as a major part of a concert at our biggest performing venue outside of a sports stadium this past weekend - what an acknowledgement when other professional artists do tributes like this! One of the most versatile of those major performers sang his own take on This Is Me, which even after listening to so many covers felt so fresh! It has that effect on people - even on performers themselves!

I would like to see Mr. Gleiberman's opinion after the totally unexpected has happened at the box office.

If the NYTimes will look further into the developments, apart from the 344-something reader reviews that were solicited by the paper itself, and look at it as a cultural phenomenon, maybe Hollywood ( and even the AMPAS) will find answers why a superficially-simple movie musical could generate such tremendous appeal...and rethink what their vision should be on what kind of films movie audiences feel akin to!

We'll see...

Jo

[jo]

Reprinting this from the FAN REACTIONS thread --

Feb 14, 2018 17:48:33 GMT -5 jo said:

Stephanie Goodman shares the responses to her question " What's So Great About The Greatest Showman?" --

You Explain What’s Truly Great About ‘The Greatest Showman’

By Stephanie Goodman

Feb. 14, 2018

Critics hate “The Greatest Showman”; moviegoers love it. The split caught professional film journalists like myself by surprise when the musical, which opened in December to tepid business, became a box-office smash and the soundtrack topped the charts in the weeks since. But I didn’t get it: What was so great about “The Greatest Showman”?

I asked, and you responded.

Nearly 1,200 readers took to nytimes.com, Facebook and Twitter to explain what they loved about the movie. Two emailed directly with passionate defenses. A colleague stopped me to share his surprise at truly enjoying it. The film’s star, Hugh Jackman, even tweeted about my question, setting off another round of fans who emphatically told me how they felt.


Hugh Jackman
✔
@realhughjackman
Hey Stephanie I truly appreciate your honesty and your openness to hear why people love Showman. Over to you all ... HJ @greatestshowman @nytimeshttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/movies/why-do-you-love-the-greatest-showman.html …

2:02 AM - Feb 10, 2018

What’s So Great About ‘The Greatest Showman’?
Critics weren’t impressed by the Hugh Jackman musical, but fans have turned it into an unexpected hit. Now it’s your turn: why do you like the movie?


Sharon
@shazzahazza1
She is wrong! Stephanie you're wrong! It's one of the best films of all time...Hugh is amazing..the songs are amazing! It's so entertaining...Stephanie couldn't be more wrong if she tried!

4:58 AM - Feb 10, 2018



Trying to be less wrong, I decided to go see the movie again, this time keeping in mind your reasons. Strikingly, a sizable number of you have seen “The Greatest Showman” two, three and, in one case, 20 times. Your explanations reflected that devotion, which was effusive and heartfelt, whether speaking about the music, Hugh Jackman’s performance or the experience of watching it with loved ones. A lot of you cited the current political moment but to make different points: Some of you found “Showman” an escape from the news, while others viewed the film’s messages as a response to the headlines.



Here’s a small taste of the answers, edited for clarity and length because you had a lot to say.

It Celebrates Outcasts
At some point everyone feels like an outsider. Being adopted I’ve heard over and over again that I’m “not Latina enough” or “not Jewish enough.” But this is me. This movie emphasizes self love. It has a wonderful message. A tribute to humanity. I saw it three times and I cannot wait until it comes out so I can buy it. REBECCA L. ALEXANDER


This Is Me (from The Greatest Showman Soundtrack) [Official Audio]CreditVideo by Atlantic Records
Every song is singable and every song has a positive message. Add to that the element that many of the characters are outcasts and freaks of their day. This is a film for this moment in time where issues of equality are no longer discussed on the fringes but are being confronted head-on. SCOTT BERG

The characters in the movie were society’s outcasts and were given a place where they belonged and were celebrated. It’s an important message to convey, especially now. BETH JANZEN BEZOOYEN




It’s the message. Dream. Live. Find your tribe. Don’t be afraid to blunder. Rise up. Fall in love. Show the world who you are. How can you not understand why it’s so good? NESSA FERRELL



It Offers an Escape
Seeing this movie was the release I needed to rid my mind of the social and political garbage our country is stewing in. I’ve never been a fan of musicals. However, I patiently sat through the film and it was worth every minute. As for critics, who the hell knows. Like many a movie, they were wrong on this one. RONDA HOOPER

Many people today are waking up each morning wondering, “What the heck is going to happen today?” They are angry, sad, frustrated and feeling helpless when they watch the news. “The Greatest Showman” is 105 minutes of pure heart stopping, toe tapping entertainment. It allows us to escape. BARBARA ISHAM

I am a legal aid attorney. A lot of my cases involve child abuse — it breaks my heart to see these children. A particularly horrible case came my way yesterday. During my commute, I put on “The Greatest Showman” soundtrack. And I felt better. I contemplated going to see the movie again (I have seen in 6.3 times — once I was taking my kids to another movie and kept sneaking into “Greatest Showman”). There is an indelible magical component of “Greatest Showman” that makes you feel like hope is out there, that good people are out there, and that we can have joy and happiness —even when we make mistakes. J. WATERS

I’m a 44-year-old male high school English teacher, and I have seen “The Greatest Showman” eight times with my wife. First, it’s about a circus — and circuses have always offered the masses a much-needed break from reality. There is also a happy ending for everyone. Yes, it’s hokey, but you leave the theater with a light heart and a smile on your face. CHRIS BRYANT



Everyone Can Enjoy the Music
Are you kidding me? The songs are golden. I cannot get enough of the soundtrack. And the movie was touching. The moment on the rooftop with his daughters was beautiful. I think many parents can relate to that feeling of wanting to give your kids a world of opportunities that were maybe unavailable to you in some way. HALEY KASPRZYK

The music is uplifting and joyful in a way that I haven’t heard in such a long time. The choreography, costuming and sets were beautiful to me. And, most important, the story of a man losing his way and coming home was something I needed in these difficult times. ASHLEY C. NICHOLS

Everything. The songs, the lessons ... the fact that my children loved it. I hate paying for the movies and we’ve seen it twice. We sing “This Is Me” as a family when someone is feeling down. It’s an amazing message and movie. STEPHANIE BASTEK

This weekend will be my third time seeing the film. Is the film an accurate biopic about Barnum? No. Was Barnum as great a humanitarian as Hugh Jackman is in the film? Most likely not. But we’re judging him by today’s times instead of the times in which he lived. Instead, they gave us memorable songs to express what the characters were feeling and actors who can say much with little or no dialogue. ANGELA WEAVER


You Experience a Range of Emotions
The emotions between Carlyle [Zac Efron] and Anne [Zendaya] reminded me of how I felt when I first met my husband — I didn’t think you could bottle that but it turns out, through “Rewrite the Stars,” you can. SARAH TAYLOR


I’m a grown woman — but this movie makes you feel like you are 17 again and that you can fly (like Zendaya). You walk out the theater on a cloud feeling victorious. It makes you believe everything could be possible: love, dreams, jobs, businesses, success. Maybe I should look into buying a trapeze. TARA DEMOSS

I tried to beg off seeing “The Greatest Showman,” and I reluctantly went with my husband. The movie hit me hard — I was emotionally hooked by the underdog story, the music, Hugh Jackman, the sheer joy of the performances, the way it made me feel for days afterwards. I kept humming the songs (seriously, humming the songs all day), streaming the music, watching the YouTube videos of the actors’ practices. This was abnormal behavior for me, luckily my husband loved the movie, too. SUSAN MAYFIELD

I have seen this movie 20 times. No joke. I wasn’t expecting anything special when my friend begged me to join her. By the time it ended, I felt a gut punch of emotions — a shot of pure joy straight to my soul in a time that I so desperately needed. ROBERT NOREIGA

The people in the theater actually clapped at the end of this movie. It was almost like a theater experience. Love the music. KATHY SIBLE



A Film for the People
I’m answering your question because I want Hugh Jackman to be able to make more movies like this one. Hugh Jackman is, to me, the most underappreciated entertainer of this generation by Hollywood’s elite and critics. His talent, humanity, charisma and masculine energy light up a stage and screen, and he pours his heart and soul into his performances. THERESA MAHFOOD

The movie is what it’s about. You watch it like you’re at the circus. You don’t care if it’s “fake” or low brow. You let yourself enjoy the music, characters and choreography. And you, Stephanie Goodman, are playing right into it. You’re the critic in the movie who didn’t like the circus, but had to admit that “the people” did. KATY VAN SANT



For the record I’m an editor, not a critic, but the irony of watching a fictional newspaper critic who hated Barnum’s work was not lost on me. In “Showman” he comes to feel a grudging respect for Barnum, and upon a second viewing I too came around — a little. When Jenny Lind takes the stage to sing “Never Enough” as Barnum falls for her, his wife watches and disapproving stares douse the sparks between Zac Efron and Zendaya, I was transported and suddenly got it. This is the romance and escapism you were talking about!

Unfortunately the moment didn’t last for me but I’ll give the fans one more turn. On Facebook, Hillary Vandenberg wrote that she’d seen the movie three times and added, “I can’t wait for it to be on Broadway.”

What do you say, Hugh?

What a disappointing response from Ms.Goodman!

All she did was summarize the responses, without adding her own reflection on the individual issues/reasons brought forward. Even when she said she saw it again, what she said that she got from the film ( which had drawn some sympathy to the film for herself ... although she said that it, too, passed) was not even note-worthy.

And she said nothing about the thinking of some about how well-made a movie musical this film is! And the reasons for saying that.

Sorry, but I thought she would have written an introspective on what the audiences shared with her, with an effort to understand this cultural phenomenon!

One is better off reading all the responses to the original article! Nothing intellectually or culturally was gained by what she wrote as the postscript article!

And is she daring Hugh to prove himself and the movie once again with her last line

Jo

[jo]

A lot of technical dancing for Hugh ( including some knee spins and knee slide) and for the group.

It would be interesting how these difficult dance routines can be done onstage regularly, if it ever transfers to Broadway!



Does anyone know if PTBarnum was actually a performer or just a ringmaster or maybe even just the impresario?

[jo]

[jo]

The anthem of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN This Is Me is used as a tribute to the fallen Florida students and school officials...and to introduce the Miss Hawaii United States Pageant.

Hawaii is the original home state of Keala Settle!

[jo]

Reel-life vs real-life portraits --

www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/921995/The-Greatest-Showman-cast-true-story-real-life-characters-pictures

[jo]

It looks like a few of the creatives were involved early on --

[jo]

Interview with Ellis Rubin, the young Phineas in the movie --



tresamagazine.com/2018/02/26/ellis-rubin/


Excerpts --

How long were you filming for?
Overall my time spent on the set was around three to four weeks. They didn’t film the scenes in the order that you see in the movie. First we filmed on the beach and outside the abandoned mansion in December, and it was so cold! Then I filmed more scenes at a different mansion at the end of March. Then we had reshoots in September.

What was it like acting alongside an all-star cast?
Besides Hugh Jackman, I didn’t really spend time with the major stars of the movie. But Hugh himself helped me learn a little bit more about my character, and relate him more to his role as the adult Barnum. He gave me tips about singing having to do with breathing and where to pause.

Did you attend The Greatest Showman film premiere?
Yes I did! It was on the Queen Mary. I had never been on an ocean liner before. It was amazing to get to see the finished movie and to celebrate everything we’d worked for over the past year or so.

I thought the reshoots were done only in August...didn't know that they also did reshoots in September.


Jo

[jo]

More than most of the interviews that they have been featured in, this article on Benj Pasek and Justin Paul shows so many insights on them as persons and as songwriters. At the same time, they are unusually down-to-earth for such a celebrated duo in musicals! Long may the duet continue!

utahvalley360.com/2018/02/27/greatest-showman-songwriters-justin-bieber-utah/

[jo]

Plot suggestion for a potential sequel to THE GREATEST SHOWMAN --

www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/925790/The-Greatest-Showman-2-Hugh-Jackman-PT-Barnum-Zac-Efron-Greatest-Showman-sequel

Excerpts --

Fans will remember the film ended with Jackman’s PT Barnum opening his show in an open-air tent, establishing the modern circus.

However he decides to hand over the rights to Efron’s Phil Carlyle, so he can focus on his family.

Since The Greatest Showman is only loosely based on history, a sequel could be easy to manifest.



Assuming the first film was set around the 1860s, a follow-up could focus on the new tent circus, with Jackman returning to his roots.

PT Barnum was known for his humbuggery, so it's not like a sequel has to stick to history

However a more interesting route could be to set The Greatest Showman 2 several decades later in the 1890s with Barnum as an elderly man.

A potential plot could see Carlyle struggling to maintain an audience as the first silent films begin to come on the scene.

Whatever the story, a sequel to The Greatest Showman certainly seems promising following its box office longevity.

Maybe touch also on Barnum's political life...before he returns to the circus?


Jo

[jo]

Revisiting the VARIETY Jackman cover story which was published before the movie was officially released, this caught my eye then but take even more significance now --

Looking ahead, the actor wants to keep singing. Emboldened by the success of “Hamilton” and “Dear Evan Hansen,” he’s itching to return to Broadway and is developing an original musical.

Given the tremendous and totally unexpected success worldwide of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, not just because of its artistic appeal but because people have internalized the sense of celebration it brought to audiences as well its many strong messages --

*If the stage project is actually something else, will the plans change now and focus on adapting the movie to the stage?
I have assumed that it would be another project then because Pasek and Paul are busy with several film musical projects ( writing songs for live-action adaptation of animated musicals) and have actually said that they do not foresee getting back with a new stage musical on Broadway till about 6 years hence.

*Given how the movie appealed across ages, gender, and borders -- would Hugh want to think of a new movie musical instead, as it can reach so many people across the globe? To bring so much joy to so many people in the world may have been the unexpected reward ... and seduce Hugh to think about another movie musical in a few years' time?

I am greedy -- I want both

A stage adaptation ( with maybe a limited engagement stint for Hugh so he can move on with his film career, too) but with a filmed version to be released a few years after its Broadway opening ( just like the gift of Oklahoma! from Trevor Nunn)...and maybe a new movie musical down the line ( so long as his legs still hold up to the dancing )?


Jo

[jo]

Instead of posting this video of the Oscars 5th nominated song on the MOVIE AWARDS TIME thread -- maybe we can keep it as keepsake post here on THE GREATEST SHOWMAN thread. It includes the full coverage of that number -- from the intro by our Zendaya to the song number led by Keala Settle, accompanied on the piano by Alex Lacamoire, to the standing ovation that greeted its completion to the pick-up on actors/actresses seen clapping or have enjoyed the number to a glimpse of Pasek and Paul in the audience!

Most complete representation of OUR movie at the 90th Oscars