THE GREATEST SHOWMAN

[jo]

[jo]

Hugh is a high baritone which could be a wide range.

I don't know that much about music -- but

what is interesting is that in a musical like the RNT revival of OKLAHOMA!, Hugh sang only in the normal baritone range, if I am not mistaken. And he portrays Wolverine, in spoken dialog terms, in his deep, growly baritone voice

[jo]

http://instagram.com/p/BhynRi3D0aD

[jo]

EW took note of Hugh's sing-along try


ew.com/movies/2018/04/20/hugh-jackman-surprises-fans-greatest-showman-singalong/

[jo]

The Greatest Showman is inspiring many other entertainment events, including this black-tie THE GREATEST BALL in the UK --

[jo]

Apr 20, 2018 7:53:19 GMT -5 jo said:

http://instagr.am/p/BhynRi3D0aD

Media reports on Hugh's singalong escapade


www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Hugh-Jackman-Surprises-Greatest-Showman-Screening-Video-44764111


One tweet indicated that Hugh was singing right behind her.

Gaby
@xgabylpx

Replying to @realhughjackman @greatestshowman

I was there literally shaking when I saw you behind me...
7:41 PM - Apr 20, 2018

However, the tweeter is from London. And we know that the singalongs are most popular in the UK. Was/Is Hugh in London?


Jo

[hughmanity]

I tnink it was from when he was in London for the Empire Awards.  That's the suit he was wearing.

Apr 20, 2018 11:10:07 GMT -5 jo said:

Apr 20, 2018 7:53:19 GMT -5 jo said:

http://instagr.am/p/BhynRi3D0aD

Media reports on Hugh's singalong escapade


www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Hugh-Jackman-Surprises-Greatest-Showman-Screening-Video-44764111


One tweet indicated that Hugh was singing right behind her.

Gaby
@xgabylpx

Replying to @realhughjackman @greatestshowman

I was there literally shaking when I saw you behind me...
7:41 PM - Apr 20, 2018

However, the tweeter is from London. And we know that the singalongs are most popular in the UK. Was/Is Hugh in London?


Jo

[jo]

That was on March 20 --

http://instagram.com/p/Bgg1HLuDoFK

Maybe the one who posted the reply dated April 20 did not mean to imply that it happened on April 19/20... but that she was simply saying she saw him even if it was a month earlier?

Besides, he was supposed to have attended the Opening Night of MY FAIR LADY on April 19

Unless there are 2 Angiers


Jo

[hughmanity]

Yes,  possibly.  She might've just tweeted today in reply to Hugh's post.

Apr 20, 2018 20:06:45 GMT -5 jo said:

That was on March 20 --

http://instagr.am/p/Bgg1HLuDoFK

Maybe the one who posted the reply dated April 20 did not mean to imply that it happened on April 19/20... but that she was simply saying she saw him even if it was a month earlier?

[jo]

The beauty of the characters and the score is that they can be portrayed in other mediums and they are as artistic!

[jo]

Another entertainment event based on THE GREATEST SHOWMAN --

www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/you-can-watch-greatest-showman-14561975?utm_source=google_news&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=google_news&utm_content=sitemap


Hmm... I wonder if Fox is aware of shows like this which charge for admission but which are based on THE GREATEST SHOWMAN ? Are there any copyright laws being violated?


Jo

[njr]

Apr 22, 2018 9:38:28 GMT -5 jo said:

Another entertainment event based on THE GREATEST SHOWMAN --

www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/you-can-watch-greatest-showman-14561975?utm_source=google_news&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=google_news&utm_content=sitemap


Hmm... I wonder if Fox is aware of shows like this which charge for admission but which are based on THE GREATEST SHOWMAN ? Are there any copyright laws being violated?


Jo

Surely the production has to get permission to use the music.

www.theatreontario.org/resources/copyright/music-use-in-theatre.aspx

Nancy

[jo]

Are you curious about how VFX ( Special Effects ) was applied in THE GREATEST SHOWMAN?


www.animationboss.net/vfx-greatest-showman/



If you don't care to see the magic of filmmaking, as it may lose the film's magic for you -- you may not want proceed

To expand the screen, please click on the V symbol (lower right hand side of the clip, representing VIMEO).


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[jo]

Don't miss this early-morning 24-minute interview on Aussie TV, before the Sydney movie premiere --

Apr 25, 2018 19:42:49 GMT -5 jo said:

Best media tour interview!




They are very relaxed and spontaneous. This is the Zac Efron I am familiar with (not the too-solemn Philip Carlyle from the movie), the camaraderie is very natural...and Hugh, of course, is in his element showing off his hometown and the Aussies ( fans and media) to his co-stars!

Fellow Aussie Michael G catches up...as well as fellow Broadway colleague Keala S!

And --

they don't know yet what is in store for THE GREATEST SHOWMAN at this point!

Jo

[jo]

In case you might miss this article ( originally posted under UNDERSTANDING THE FILM BUSINESS ) - I am reposting it here because there are mentions of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN and Hugh Jackman. This is a report of the FOX presentation at CinemaCon 2018 --

Apr 26, 2018 12:34:48 GMT -5 jo said:

Not sure where to post the account of FOX presenation at CinemaCon 2018. To complicate matters, it seems Hugh joined in a video presentation for theatre exhibitors.

There were also some bittersweet notes as the FOX team made their final presentation as FOX, given the impending Disney purchase!



deadline.com/2018/04/deadpool-2-20th-century-fox-a-chorus-line-chris-aronson-1202377295/

20th Century Fox Kicks Off With Deadpool ‘A Chorus Line’ Number; Stacey Snider Talks Disney-Fox Merger – CinemaCon
by Anthony D'Alessandro

and Amanda N'Duka

April 26, 2018 10:17am


20th Century Fox always starts their CinemaCon presentations with a musical number, and this year it was A Chorus Line of girls in red bustiers dancing along to that Broadway show’s signature song “One” as Deadpool himself came twirling on stage. This was followed by Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) beaming in via video saying that he can’t be there, and that Fox distribution chief Chris Aronson was running late.


Deadpool greeted the exhibitors in the room by saying “when do we get this self congratulatory orgy of non-exhibitionists going?” Aronson than wakes up in bed in a The Greatest Showman get-up and says “I’m totally fucked.”

Hugh Jackman joins the duo in the hotel room, and Deadpool tells him “it looks like Comcast really dodged the bullet” which received a number of laughs from the room. More Disney-Fox merger jokes: a costumed Pluto wakes up in the background of the video and makes his way out amidst debris.


“You try staying up and drinking with those pricks,” said Aronson taking the stage, “at least I don’t have to wear spandex.” Aronson has appeared in Vanilla Ice get-up at previous CinemaCons and has always been a gamer in regards to hamming it up during the studio’s sessions here at Las Vegas.


Motion Pictures boss Stacey Snider,on the Disney-Fox Merger said “we face a potential merger and its lasting implications on the movie business and I have no more insights than you do.” That said she touted the studio’s finesse with sleepers like The Greatest Showman and Fox’s history of pushing boundaries with such non-IP fare. Snider then threw it to a Fox sizzle reel of their greatest hits including Sound of Music, Patton, Empire Strikes Back, Broadcast News, Cleopatra, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Alien, The King and I , etc.

The Fox intro fanfare from Newman soared, and the room here erupted with cheers.

The electricity in the room is bittersweet: This could be Fox’s final CinemaCon session with the merger on the horizon. “I can’t believe it’s been a century of working together with you,” Aronson said on behalf of the studio to the exhibs in the room. He called out and thanked key executives on his Fox team and theater chain executives, giving them props. “It’s an honor to get to work with you and your teams,” said Aronson and then declaring, “We and so many others are 20th Century Fox.”

Oh...what have the Murdochs done

[jo]

Postscript to the Deadline report on the FOX presentation, although there is no mention of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN here, from The Hollywood Reporter --

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stacey-snider-takes-what-could-be-final-turn-cinemacon-stage-fox-1106089

Stacey Snider Takes What Could Be Final Turn on CinemaCon Stage for Fox
10:26 AM PDT 4/26/2018 by Pamela McClintock , Mia Galuppo


Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Stacey Snider onstage last year at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.

Disney's pending $52.4 billion deal for Fox assets will have "lasting implications," said the studio exec.
As speculation swirls about the impact of Disney's pending $52.4 billion acquisition of Fox assets, Stacey Snider took the stage for what could be the final time as the leader of an independent 20th Century Fox studio.

"Today we face a new transition and potential merger that will have lasting implications for the film business. I have no more insight than you do," the chairman and CEO of the studio told exhibitors on Thursday. "Going forward, let’s stay committed to the vision of cinema. Let’s wear our hearts on our sleeves and aim to please."

The exec also spoke about the rich history of the studio's cinematic offerings. "When 20th Century Fox was founded by way of a merger, the movie business was regaining its footing from years of depression," Snider said. "We’ve been making movies and memories for nearly 85 years through all of the decades."

Snider added, "Let’s take meaningful steps to make sure people still come together to see things they have never seen before."

One day earlier, on Wednesday, the executive was asked about the planned Disney acquisition and didn't speak to any specifics. "I think that all of us live with the uncertainty of a business of changes and disruption. We have to be professional and buckle up," Snider said during a panel.

Disney CEO Bob Iger and Fox mogul Rupert Murdoch unveiled the deal for Disney to acquire Fox's film and TV studio on Dec. 14 of last year, a merger that analysts expect could result in significant layoffs and cost-savings.

The pending deal also raises questions about the future of 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight, and whether Disney would choose to pare down theatrical releases from the studios.

Snider was in Las Vegas in support of upcoming Fox titles including Ryan Reynolds' R-rated Deadpool 2, YA adaptation The Darkest Minds, Shane Black's reboot of the Predator series, Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody and more films.

At the Fox panel at CinemaCon on Thursday, director Robert Rodriguez showed off two clips from his upcoming Alita: Battle Angel, the manga adaptation being produced by James Cameron. Rodriguez called Cameron, who is working on four sequels to Avatar, "the busiest guy in the world," but noted he took time to be a teacher on this project.

"He wouldn't send back and answer, but a thesis. He’s very thorough," Rodriguez said of picking the brain of the filmmaker, who has been working since the '90s to make the project a reality.

[jo]

This reporter may have mistakenly thought the video clip with Deadpool, Hugh as Hugh, and Fox distribution chief Chris Aronson us actually an official trailer for DEADPOOL 2 instead of being part of the FOX ( could be final) presentation --

www.bleedingcool.com/2018/04/26/cinemacon-deadpool-2-wolverine-team-up-kind-of/

[jo]

There is indeed reference to THE GREATEST SHOWMAN in the speech of FOX Chairman and CEO Stacey Snider as the studio faces an uncertain future .

www.nhregister.com/entertainment/the-wrap/article/Fox-Film-CEO-Confronts-Disney-Acquisition-With-12866817.php

Fox film boss Stacey Snider addressed the elephant — or mouse — in the room at the closing day of CinemaCon, as she acknowledged Acknowledged the studio’s uncertain future given the looming Disney acquisition.

“Today we face a new transition,” Snider told U.S. movie exhibitors, after revisiting the glittering history of her studio. “I have no more insight into the transaction than you do.”

“But I’m holding on to the very basics which helped make ‘The Greatest Showman’ a hit,” Snider said of the Hugh Jackman musical, now in it’s rare 18th week in theaters.



The presentation also made reference to the merger. Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool opened with a pretaped clip in a trashed hotel room at Caesar’s Palace, lying in bed with the studio’s domestic distribution head Chris Aronson. Implying they had a rough night, Hugh Jackman then emerged from another room in a bathrobe, brushing his teeth.

Aronson begs off, saying he’s late to greet the exhibitors.

“He is so fucked. Looks like Comcast really dodged a bullet,” Deadpool joked, referring to Disney’s rival bidder for Fox’s film and TV assets.

As the men exit the den of iniquity, one last straggler emerges from under the bed — it’s Disney’s beloved dog Pluto, who looks like he’s had the roughest night of all.

The December buyout infused the Disney with a bevy of Fox properties, including its film and TV studios and much of its non-broadcast television business, including regional sports networks and cable networks such as FX, FXX and Nat Geo.


Top film franchises like “X-Men,” “Avatar,” “Deadpool” and “Fantastic Four” now fall under the Disney umbrella, if and when the merger mees regulatory approval in the next 12 to 18 months.

Snider briefly addressed consolidation at at a CinemaCon panel on Wednesday, telling a crowd of exhibitors that “we all live with uncertainty of a business and that is an experience that changes — just buckle up and be professional and play our game.”


Read original story Fox Film CEO Teases Uncertain Future With Looming Disney Acquisition: ‘We Face a New Transition’ At TheWrap

[jo]

An emotional piece from Variety on the presumably pending loss of the artistic contributions from Fox when Disney takes over!

variety.com/2018/film/news/fox-cinemacon-disney-merger-1202788921/

Fox’s CinemaCon Presentation Shows Much Could Be Lost With Disney Merger
By Brent Lang @brentalang

Brent Lang
Senior Film and Media Editor
@brentalang


Twentieth Century Fox’s CinemaCon presentation powerfully illustrated that there are casualties in this current era of media mergers and corporate consolidation. Typically these occasions, intended to highlight the impermeable bond between studios and theater owners, are celebratory in nature. This one was different.

Fox, the studio behind “The Sound of Music” and “Avatar,” is being sold by the Murdoch family to Disney in a $52.4 billion pact. That pending merger hung over the hour-long presentation, giving it the feel of an Irish wake — albeit one with dancing Deadpools.

“We put our chips on vision,” Fox film chief Stacey Snider said during an emotional series of remarks to exhibitors.
“We’ve been making movie and memories for nearly 85 years,” she said. “We took chances, pushed boundaries, and forged the future of the film business… Going forward, let’s stay committed to the vision of cinema. Let’s wear our hearts on our sleeves and aim to please.”


The studio head made it clear that Fox will continue to greenlight and produce movies, both big and small, while awaiting the arrival of its new corporate leaders. To that end, Fox screened footage from the sci-fi thriller “Alita: Battle Angel,” the Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and the blood-drenched thriller “Bad Times at the El Royale.” All of these films are the kind of gritty, puckish, often R-rated fare that Disney does not typically manufacture. Save for a trailer for “Deadpool 2,” it was a presentation that was devoid of spandex-wearing superheroes. The X-Men franchise, a big part of the reason Disney wants to get its paws on Fox, barely warranted a mention.


The presentation wasn’t entirely elegiac. Fox did poke fun at the impending mega-transaction. An opening video montage found distribution chief Chris Aronson waking up in a Vegas hotel room with a hungover Pluto, a bathrobe-wearing Hugh Jackman, and Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool gear. As Aronson tried to shake off the after-effects of a night on the town so he could make it to the presentation, Reynolds as Deadpool quipped, “Looks like Comcast really dodged a bullet.”

The Fox group may have been using humor to hide hurt. Snider and much of her film team’s jobs remain in question (though painful rounds of layoffs and staffing cuts seem inevitable). It’s also unclear how Disney will integrate the studio’s various labels and divisions into its operations. Will it continue to back indie arm Fox Searchlight? Will it find a place for politically charged Fox dramas such as “The Hate U Give” on its soon-to-launch streaming service? Will Deadpool be allowed to drop F-bombs when he’s part of the Magic Kingdom?


Those questions should haunt exhibitors. Right now, theater owners adore Disney, and with good reason. The studio has released a dozen $1 billion-grossing movies over the past six years, enriching all of them. Disney controls the Marvel, Pixar, and LucasFilm brands, ensuring that theater owners’ multiplexes will be well stocked with comic book movies, Star Wars sequels, and animated fare during the summer popcorn season and the holidays.


Disney has also endeared itself to exhibitors by opposing the kind of early video-on-demand plans that would see movies premiere in the home within weeks of their theatrical release — a proposal that a Murdoch-controlled Fox once pushed. By taking Fox out of these talks, Disney has slowed the momentum behind that effort. No studio chief got louder applause than Disney film czar Alan Horn when he told the CinemaCon crowd during his studio’s presentation that “The Walt Disney Company is committed to the theatrical window. Period.”

That’s well and good. However, by buying Fox and presumably paring down the number of films it makes, Disney is ensuring that there will be fewer big studio movies to screen in exhibitors’ theaters. Some of those movies are the kinds of artistically challenging, emotionally stirring, big, bold artistic bets that the film business needs if it wants to keep inspiring new generations of artists to pick up a camera and add to the tapestry of cinematic voices that have made this such a rich medium for roughly a century.

That couldn’t come at a more perilous time. Domestic attendance has flatlined in recent years and the film business has had trouble consistently attracting younger crowds. In her remarks, Snider alluded to the challenges facing the film business from streaming services and new media disruptors. In this climate, Snider urged the crowd to “stay dedicated to the future of cinema and passionate about the future to come.”

In the short-term that future will have one fewer major studio spinning dreams out of celluloid. Fox’s presentation ended with a marching band playing the familiar strains of its iconic opening logo fanfare. Usually the crashing symbols and banging drums give off a triumphant air. This time the music sounded like military taps.

[jo]

The LA Times also focused on the bleak-looking future for FOX...and cites THE GREATEST SHOWMAN as among the studio's recent successes.

www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-fox-cinemacon-fox20180426-story.html

SHOWMAN was initially viewed as a risky project, which led to a very long gestation period. FOX bit the bullet when it approved the project greenlight. And the novie turned out to be one of 2017's most unprecedented hits.

[jo]

Another emotional piece, and on a personal level for Pete Hammond of Deadline --

deadline.com/2018/04/20th-century-fox-emotional-show-cinemacon-1202377626/

20th Century Fox Gets Emotional In Powerful Show As Much About Its Past As It Was About The Future – CinemaCon

by Pete Hammond

April 26, 2018 1:25pm




Did CinemaCon save the best for (nearly) the last? In terms of the movies on display we’ll have to wait and see, but in terms of pure emotion I would have to guess there wasn’t a dry eye in Caesars Palace’s Colosseum at this morning’s richly nostalgic, proud and perhaps bittersweet presentation from 20th Century Fox that could — if and when the proposed Disney merger is approved — be the last the iconic studio ever does on of these on its own here as one of Hollywood’s storied six majors.


Afterwards in the lobby, it was hard to find a Fox staffer without tears still in their eyes. Yes, there was the usual slate tubthumping, and a few star and filmmaker appearances (though much lighter compared to what the other studios sans Disney have done here in that regard), but this presentation brilliantly masterminded by Fox Special Events VP Len Iannelli (clearly aware it could be the last hurrah at CinemaCon) stood out just for the sheer emotional power of it all.


A beautifully compiled legacy reel was shown — that was where I started to lose it. With everyone from Shirley Temple and Will Rogers to Titanic to Apes to Deadpool, it was a visual journey through the studio’s mighty and unforgettable 85-year history that didn’t forget the films that got them to this point including How Green Was My Valley, All About Eve, The Grapes of Wrath, The Sound of Music, Star Wars, Avatar, X Men, Hidden Figures, 12 Years a Slave, The Shape of Water and so much more. It was overwhelming to see this studio’s life pass before its eyes in front of 5000 theater owners.

Fox was the very first movie studio I ever got to see when my Uncle Bud got me and my mother a private tour from a publicity VP college friend of his when I was a wide-eyed kid obsessed with movies. I grew up just a couple of miles away from the Pico Boulevard studio and still get a thrill every time I go on that lot. As 20th chairman Stacey Snider eloquently said in her opening remarks, the “proposed merger” is part of the great unknown future for Fox and its employees, but its remarkable history and legacy is something that is always there even if this means the end for one of Hollywood’s giants — at least as its own entity and not a part of Disney.

The other day at Disney’s all-pro, no-frills showcase here there was no mention of Fox, and I predicted that at Fox’s show there would be no mention of Disney. There wasn’t by name, but it unquestionably permeated the room in many ways. How could it not?

As usual, Fox wins Best In Show at CinemaCon, even without the extra emotional layer this year. They regularly come to Vegas and understand the idea of showmanship starting off with a dazzling ode to their May 18 release Deadpool 2, with a Deadpool-style lineup of dancers doing the number “One” from A Chorus Line. This led into a hilarious taped video comedy piece featuring Ryan Reynolds in full Deadpool garb trying to awaken Fox president of distribution Chris Aronson from what was clearly a wild night of partying at Caesars. When he does regain consciousness he is disheveled and wearing Hugh Jackman’s PT Barnum circus outfit from The Greatest Showman. Jackman himself makes a cameo appearance in the video before Aronson finally hobbles live to the stage. Great stuff, and it got big laughs from the theater owners. (By the way Snider made much mention of the surprise worldwide success of Greatest Showman, which she noted remains in theaters after 18 weeks and has grossed $400 million and counting.



Once he got his act together, Aronson and Snider took turns introducing the 2018 slate that featured what could be a couple of Oscar quality entries in George Tillman Jr.’s The Hate U Give for which the director brought along his star Amandla Stenberg and some very powerful footage. Rami Malek also made an impression on stage and on screen as Freddie Mercury in the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, which had its producer Graham King well, rhapsodic over the reception to the footage when I ran into him in the lobby afterwards. He’s been trying to get this made for 12 years and the emotional nature of just getting it on screen fit right in with the feeling of the whole morning. “And now we are finally off,” he told me with some relief, especially after all the production problems during filming where original helmer Bryan Singer was fired and replaced with Dexter Fletcher. There was no mention of either director during the presentation by King and Malek, and on their official credits sheets for today’s lineup it is the only film not to list a directing credit.
Malek touted the fact that Queen’s Brian May himself called to give approval to his performance after seeing the film recently and told the actor Mercury would have been proud.


Among the other films, James Cameron and director Robert Rodriguez’s unique Alita: Battle Angel looked intriguing (producer Jon Landau joined Rodriguez onstage) — it was written years ago by Cameron who went on to direct Avatar instead. Now the time and motion capture technology seems ripe for the Christmas release.

I love film noirish stuff, so the cool-y titled Bad Times at teh El Royale caught my interest, as did Steve McQueen’s Widows with a great ensemble cast in a story of a group of recently widowed women who take matters into their own hands. Fox is also rebooting The Predator, has a new YA franchise hopeful with The Darkest Minds, and of course the driving box office force of Deadpool 2. All of them were on display for exhibitors to see bits and pieces.

But the slate wasn’t the story today it was Fox itself, along with its rich past and uncertain future, that made me feel a sense of sadness underlying the day in what really was tribute to a great institution. Ironically, it was pointed out that 20th Century Fox itself was the result of a merger in the 1930s when 20th Century pictures joined forces with Fox , thus becoming the industry behemoth it has always been.


Continuing the showman-like flair, the breezy presentation came in just under 90 minutes and ended with a local Las Vegas high school’s vast marching band coming in from the lobby to join in the last musical beats of the clip from Bohemian Rhapsody only to segue right into a dynamic performance of that famous 20th Century Fox fanfare to enormous applause and cheers. As the crowd left it was to the strains of “We Are the Champions.”

For today at least, that was the perfect sentiment on which to end it.

Wikipedia lists all the movies produced under the 20th Century Fox banner --

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_20th_Century_Fox_films

Wow! Reading those film names is enough to draw out an emotional reaction to what the future can bring!


Btw, they produced 5 of the most beloved musicals of all time --

*Oklahoma!
*Carousel
*KingAndI
*SouthPacific
*SoundOfMusic

In my book, I will add the name of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN to the list, as it seems destined to become a film classic!

[jo]

The veteran movie press from the trade paper and other respected movie media are touched by the sense of history of filmmaking at Fox. Anne Thompson who now writes for Indiewire contributes this piece --

www.indiewire.com/2018/04/fox-farewell-cinemacon-2018-1201957696/


Excerpts --

Fox Celebrates ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ While Striking a Sad Farewell at CinemaCon 2018
Is this Fox's last go-round at CinemaCon? No one knows.

Anne Thompson
1 hour ago
@akstanwyck



Fox motion picture chairman Stacey Snider’s CinemaCon gave a moving eulogy for her transitioning studio; she made a similar case for the power of movies to bring people together with shared humanity. The Fox fanfare and reel of the great films from the studio over 85 years brought tears to more than one in Caesar’s Colosseum.

While the studio’s highlight reel ranged from “Gentlemen’s Agreement,” and “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” to “Fight Club” and “Avatar,” a line from John Ford’s “How Green Was My Valley” resonated: “Something is going out of this valley that will never be replaced.” It felt like a wake. What will happen? Nobody knows, but it won’t be the same. And Snider, who choked up as the Fox fanfare played, may not be able to finish what she started.

She reminded the audience that “The Greatest Showman” is still in theaters in its 18th week. “A heartfelt musical with no franchise history or Broadway run that has broken records is the third-biggest live action musical of all time,” she said. “In our rapidly transforming landscape, as the movie business faces challenges from streaming and subscription services, changing platforms and portability, ‘The Greatest Showman,’ an old-school tried-and-true rags-to-riches song-and-dance motion picture, defied the rules of gravity as it aims to please in every frame.”


The studio started its Thursday-morning presentation with a hilarious Caesar’s hotel room video with hungover Deadpool giving his “canned ‘can’t be there in person’ apology,” at this annual “excuse to cheat on your spouse on the company dime,” he said. “Comcast dodged a bullet,” he added. “Aronson is so fucked.”

Fox distribution head Chris Aronson emerged from the rumpled bedclothes in his “The Greatest Showman” outfit, while Hugh Jackman sported a hotel bathrobe; lastly, Goofy crawled out of the bed. In other words, when Fox is sold to Disney no one knows who will survive the merger.

Like every studio in Hollywood, tentpole sequels anchor Fox’s slate. It looks like more of same for “Deadpool 2,” complete with truck stunts and skydives, a returning T.J. Miller, and a younger group of would-be superheroes added to the Deadpool team, along with one-eyed villain Josh Brolin. “You’re so dark, are you sure you’re not from the DC universe?” asked Deadpool, referring to Brolin’s “Infinity War” incarnation.


More...

[jo]

In a conference of nationwide theater distributors, the Associated Press highlights how THE GREATEST SHOWMAN has been a key point on how to build up an audience over a period. It was first mentioned in the keynote speech on Opening day as well as in the Fox presentation --

www.wthr.com/article/fox-talks-disney-teases-bohemian-rhapsody-at-cinemacon

Aronson played his part, wearing Hugh Jackman's P.T. Barnum costume from "The Greatest Showman" in a bit about how he spent the night drinking with Deadpool and Wolverine.

"The Greatest Showman" has become a consistent refrain throughout the week. It became a slow-burning hit for the studio that is still building and upending some long-held beliefs about the importance of opening weekends.

Released in late December, the film opened to a deathly $8.8 million, but has since grown to over $427 million in worldwide grosses to become the biggest live-action musical of all time.

The opening weekend yardstick became key profitability factor with the advent of the tentpoles/blockbusters. It is usually prefaced with massive publicity programs (advertising/media tours/ tie-ins with other retail products such as toys, etc). It was also expected that after a massive weekend, there is usually a very significant drop the following weekends. Word of mouth is less heightened as the movie theatrical run decelerates very fast.

In the case of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, favorable audience reactions and word-of-mouth defied critical negativity...and as audiences began to be aware of the film's appeal, it became "leggier and leggier". A major factor was also the excellent performance of the soundtrack album on the charts as partly indicative of the film musical's appeal. Performancess and other creative values ( which heightened the story and spectacle appeal) were very well-received. Social media was also key to the very strong continuing support from audiences!

Thus the theatrical exhibitors were encouraged to follow the strategy of a film like THE GREATEST SHOWMAN of cultivating word of mouth appeal to encourage a long life at the physical box-office. See the movie in theaters...and to explore its appeal compared to home entertainment options ( streaming/on demand/discs).

to become the biggest live-action musical of all time.

It is referring to the biggest ORIGINAL live-action musical of all time! It is not based on previous material, in film ( remakes) or stage ( adaptations).


Jo

[jo]

[jo]

This was the first post from Hugh re the start of filming for THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, using a past historical image from a museum of the Barnum troupe.

http://instagr.am/p/BKjUR14DiFZ

I have always wondered --

In the photo you can see a number of clowns... and history bears out that clowns were a major attraction in circuses!



Why were there no clowns at all in the storyline and characters of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN?

Hmm.... Was it because clowns were not used as entertainment figures at the time period of the Barnum story in North America, unlike in Europe where clowns were already part of circuses?


Jo